The Lighthouse
by Glory Nizenea
Summary: Long ago, the Seven Great Demon Lords were overthrown by the First Five Destined. Now the Destined we all know and love must face the consequences of Demon's wrath as he forces their lives to crumble around them.
1. I&I Part 1: Past Harkened

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon and I am not profiting from this fanfic. I do not own/profit from anything I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged_. The first scene provides narrative to episode 45 "_The Ultimate Clash_" from Digimon Adventure Season 1 and uses a few dubbed lines of dialogue from that episode.

**Story Themes:** "Libera Me From Hell" from the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann OST

**Author's Note:** This is a sequel to "Love For A Fool", BUT you don't need to read that in order to understand this story. It gets pretty thoroughly explained/recapped in the narration. There are also plenty of references to other _Digimon_ seasons and mangas and game universes, particularly in later chapters. UPDATES EVERY MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY!

Now, without further adieu, I present to you the three-part premier of THE LIGHTHOUSE...

(-'010102010'-)

"Lighthouses shined light out to lost ships to guide them to their destination. Instead, the off-white cylinder building poured only more darkness into an ocean filled with darkness, becoming a manifestation of the growing night. Lighthouses did not exist in the Dark Ocean, nor the World of Darkness. It was only the darkhouses that sheltered the cold, weary, lost, bewildered inhabitants of a cold, weary, lost, bewildered world. Darkhouses that darkened the days and blinded the nights, guiding the unknown into a path without light, without hope, without warmth or change or finding or comprehension. Because light did not exist in a world made of shadow, bone, blood, and ghost."

—_Love For A Fool_, Chapter Five

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session I**

... Part I: Harken to the Past ...

_SMACK_

_There was a spray of sand. A howl. Then a roar that rattled her ribs even though it hadn't come from her. Kari Kamiya looked up at the flashing sky, where WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon bludgeoned each other with the force of ten thousand gods. Their battle echoed the fight of their human partners, throwing each other around like puppets. Tai and Matt. Always so angry with each other, always so temperamental. When was it that things got this bad? How did their hatred and jealousy toward each other escalate to this height?_

_And what could Kari do? She was so little. Frail. Sick. Her body couldn't take much physical strain, even though she was healthy at the moment. She was still recovering from that horrible fever._

_She felt useless._

"_You're not useless," said a voice beside her. She peered over toward the empty meadow of long grass and bushels of unknown flora, but there were no people there. Perhaps one of the blades of grass was a digimon? Kari bustled around for a while, drawing further from the group._

_Just when she was two seconds away from giving up and heading back to the others, the voice spoke again, this time coming from somewhere above her. "You are perhaps the least useless person I have ever had the honor of knowing," the voice said. "Please don't think so ill of yourself."_

_Kari blushed. How could the voice know her thoughts? She didn't think she said anything out loud... maybe she had without realizing it? No... No, she couldn't have._

_The more Kari tried to look for the source of the voice, the louder the voice came. Soon it reminded her of a drum, all-encompassing and all-consuming, swallowing her in the rumbling depths of something intangible, something foreign; it was not real, it could not be real. The voice had no physical form. It was disembodied._

_And it spoke only to her. _I should go,_ Kari thought, about to turn around. _Gatomon might get worried. And Matt and Tai...

_She bit her bottom lip. _I wish I could do something to help them.

"_You can," the voice whispered. "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But someday, you will become a bridge between worlds. Someday, you will be the light that smothers the darkness. And not even they will be able to stump it with their pettiest emotions."_

_The voice went silent, then. Kari was so stunned that not a single word came to mind. The voice knew who she was, what she was thinking— it even seemed to know her future, although she was not quite sure she believed it. She'd believe it when it happened, that was a good way to put it._

_After a while, the voice's tone lowered as it said, "Do you fear me, Kari Kamiya?"_

"_I'm not afraid!" She couldn't be afraid. Would her brother be afraid? No! No, he wouldn't, and neither could she! She would face this voice without any worry, any sadness in her heart... But... She couldn't deny the tremor in her hands. The shaking in her knees. The voice hadn't said anything to upset her. She couldn't even see where it came from. But there was something creeping inside of her, an unknowing that sent shivers down her spine. "Well," she said after nibbling on her bottom lip, "Maybe I'm a little afraid." She paused. "My name's Kari. Please tell me who you are. Do you want to be friends with us?"_

"_With Matt and Tai...?" Kari smiled at the voice's pause. "Their friendship will stand the test of time. Rivalry is a necessary evil to complete a particularly grating task. It drives you. It improves things... if the rivals don't kill each other or someone else, that is. I wonder— will you and Yolei ever kill each other? You two are rivals. Rivals, friends..."_

_Yolei? Who was Yolei?_

_The voice seemed to sense – or hear – Kari's confusion, because it added, "Friends... I would very much like friends."_

You don't have any? _Kari asked._

_The voice's tone lowered once again. "I did." Paused. "Once upon a time, when I was flesh."_

What did you look like?

"_Come closer and you'll see," the voice answered. Kari looked up at the sky. She saw a wide spectrum of ethereal colors, almost like a rainbow, gleaming in the sunlight. That must have been the source of the voice._

"_You seem nice enough," Kari whispered, stepping closer to the light. It was tepid; the light soaked into her pores and radiated beneath her skin. She could feel it spreading through her chest and planting itself deep into her ribs, through veins and vessels and organs. A great, awesome heat filled her entire body, but it wasn't unwelcome. In fact, as the heat grew hotter and hotter, a smile caught her lips and traveled across her cheeks._

"_You asked who I was," the voice went on. The Sun-glow illuminated Kari's face. "I am the illumination," the voice said, "I am the glare," it roared, "I am the Sun and the Moon and I am the warmth inside of your heart," it whispered, "I am Courage," it said, "I am Friendship," it laughed, "I am Love and Knowledge and Purity, I am Reliability and I am Hope," it bellowed. "I am the _**First**_ and I am the _**Last**_. I was _**before you**_ and I will stand _**long after you**_._

"_I am _**Geneva**_."_

_And the incandescent glow enveloped her whole. She grabbed her chest, trying to stop the heat from filtering her mind, her thoughts, her body; she tried to call out for Gatomon, ask her what was happening, but her voice froze in her throat. She could not even get out a single whisper before the invisible light-creature coiled itself around her body._

_At first, she was scared. Then the inferno which felt as if it would incinerate her dispersed. She thought about the voice and how sad it sounded when it mentioned how it once had friends, when it was flesh— what happened to its friends? Were they okay? Or were they gone? Would Kari lose her friends, too?_

"_Yes," the voice – _**Geneva**_ – breathed into her ear, into her mind. "You will lose them all. But together, you and I will get them back. For I have chosen you, Wielder of Light, and so you will choose me or everyone you know will die. Now hold your Crest to the light. Let me feel it. Let me in, Kari Kamiya. Now is not the time to hesitate!"_

_But she didn't want to... She didn't know who this Geneva was, or what she would want with Kari's Crest... And Kari's Crest was so precious, so loved. It was the thing which bonded her most with Gatomon._

_Gatomon._

I love you, Gatomon,_ Kari thought, tears springing at the corners of her eyes._

"_You will lose her, too," Geneva said. "The Dark Masters will try to separate you. They will succeed for a brief time. But it is not the Dark Masters you need worry about._

"_It is the things which crawl in the world made of darkness. The world built upon the bones of dead digital beings, a world where air is the breath of demon gods, where rivers of blood replace rivers of water, and only hatred reigns. This is the world which will grip you, which will hurt you, haunt you, which will control you! This is the world ruled by endless things, mercurial creatures, eternal beings who will not rest, will not stop, will not _**think **_until you and everyone you know and love and care about are dead! The Endless Ones are coming, and their ocean of darkness and shadow will sweep you away, Kari, and they will drown Gatomon, and there will be nothing you can do about it! You are strong, so very, very strong, but you cannot do everything on your own!_

"_Now let me in, so that I may help you! There is no time to waste!"_

_And with a clash of orange and blue – a flash of energy from WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon – Kari winced, fumbled with her Crest, and looked up at the white, gleaming light._

Will it take Tai, too? _She asked._

"_Yes," the voice replied._

And TK? Patamon? All the others...

"_All of them. It will separate you from all the ones you love."_

So then I'll be like you,_ Kari thought, still staring up at the light, feeling the tremble in her throat that stopped her from saying anything further. Alone. Friendless. Trapped in a world that was neither her own or the Digital World. A world where only evil prevailed._

_The voice was silent for a second. Then, in a strained wisp, it replied, "Yes." Kari felt a pang in her heart. "You will end up just like me," it said. "Alone."_

I can't allow that,_ she thought, reaching for the light. The Crest dangled from her hand. _I WON'T allow that! I won't let anything hurt them...

And I won't let anything hurt you, either, Geneva. I'll be your friend.

You will not be alone ever again.

"_Together, then," Geneva said. Kari could feel hands grasp hers, though she could not see them. She thought she saw a flash of amber-colored light, black pupils at the center. Eyes? Eyes like a hawk's, orange-hued and almond-shaped. Geneva's eyes. Was that what Geneva had looked like at one time, when she was flesh? "You will not remember me when you wake," she said, "But someday, we will see each other again. Until then, I will watch. And I will wait. And deep inside of you, I will be with you._

"_I will never let you fall."_

_Then the light faded, and the darkness came._

_The next thing Kari knew, she was cradled in Tai's arms. He was looming over her, calling her name. She smiled, but she didn't know why._

_She would not find out for another eight years._

(-1010201-)

James Thurber once said that there are two kinds of light: the glow that illuminates, and the glare that obscures. It was this quote that Gennai reminded her of.

"So which one are you?" the quirky man said, smiling at her in his own pleasant way.

Kari was panting. Her palms cupped her kneecaps. She thought her lungs might explode and her parched throat felt scorched.

Gennai's pleasant smile didn't wane, though. "They're coming."

Kari did not get the opportunity to ask him what he meant before another attack struck with the force of a sledgehammer. She smashed against the outside wall of her apartment, shaking the beams, chipping the paint. Groaning, Kari sunk to her knees and held her head in her hands. "I can't do this, Gennai," she whispered between her fingers. "I can't... I can't... It's been six months and I can't get a hold of them and we're running out of time!"

Another attack bludgeoned the wall an inch from her head. She leaped to the side, not hesitating to relinquish her face in order to defend herself. "The Beings of Light won't talk to me!"

"But you're remembering!" Gennai barked, suddenly moving. "You're remembering your importance to them! You have been in contact with them once before, years ago! You have felt the remnants of their communication more than once, when you glow! You just need to remember! It is the key to everything."

"I can't!" she cried, avoiding another attack. She ran right into Gennai, who gripped her shoulders and stared her in the eye.

"You must."

Six months.

Six months since Earth was attacked by legions of evil digimon. Six months since Kari was sucked into the Dark Ocean for a second time. Six months since Davis Motomiya, thanks to unknown forces, ripped open the boundaries between Earth and the Dark Ocean, and came to her aid. Six months since Davis and Kari relinquished a part of their souls in order to save each other. Six months since the creature which pulled Kari in revealed that he was not the Master of that ocean, that world, who desired Kari's light— six months since the creature facetiously called himself the soul-sucking Overlord of Darkness, contracting souls of those he deemed worthy in a sick experiment of fate. Six months since he told Kari and Davis that he would be back, and he and his fellow Endless Brethren would overrun the Earth and the Digital World both.

Six months since this soul-sucking freak who forced Kari and Davis and all their friends to their knees told them that he was merely the weakest of his bastard band of evil things.

Six months since Kari Kamiya was told she would need to contact the World of Light in order to save both worlds. Six months since she realized the fate of two worlds were hinged on the shoulders of a girl who had absolutely no clue of where to even begin, because the only connection she had to that devastatingly beautiful world was her Crest of Light.

Six months, and all she had to show for it was better control of her newest evolution.

"Newest evolution"— that was what Gennai called it, though he was unable to explain it any further. It was an ancient evolution, lost by time and space and conflict. One of the mysteries of the Digital World, like the armor digieggs of Veemon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon. The evolution came in stages. The first stage was the ability to manipulate digital energy, or something like that; it gave the human partners a boost in power so that they could defend their plight side-by-side with their digimon partners. It made Kari feel like a superhero, even though it was hard to control. Kari did not know how many more stages there were or what trials those stages would bring, and Gennai was unwilling to tell her no matter how many times she bugged him.

Six months had barely accomplished anything at all that she needed. But it was better than nothing.

"Now move," Gennai said, pushing her back.

She stumbled and nearly tripped, but caught herself and propelled her body to the right, where she swerved. Twisting on her heel, Kari felt the electrical currents explode along her arms, traveling with crackling pops up her shoulders and down her torso. Blue bolts the size of horse legs ran through her hair. Soon her entire body was encased in armor made of lightning; the only visible part of her were the black pupils of her eyes.

An explosion sent tremors through the ground. She steadied herself and pointed her finger at her attacker.

It was a mirror projection of Gennai in a Mechanorimon.

Mechanorimon held out his hand and a beam of orange light sizzled the air. Kari, too, was pointing in his direction. With a nod, lightning jetted out of her hand and snapped against the beam. Instantly, the blue lightning engulfed the orange light and swallowed both Mechanorimon and Gennai, incinerating them both.

The real Gennai stepped beside her and clapped a hand over her shoulder. She fell to her knees, clasping at her face. The lightning pittered out until only a couple stray bolts squirmed along her shoulders like energy-exuding worms.

"You're ready," Gennai told her. "You just have to believe you are. Only then will you be able to smash the barrier separating you from the Light Beings."

But the World of Light was not like the Digital World. She couldn't just take out her D3, point it at a computer, and be sucked into a Lightport. That would accomplish nothing. The World of Light was on a whole different plane of existence, even from the Digital World— even from the Dark Ocean.

It really disturbed Kari. Why was it so easy for her to be dragged into a world opposite of her Crest when it was so impossible to even whisper to a world hosting the source of her very essence?

_Maybe I'm the glare,_ she thought, holding her chest, wishing she hadn't fought the false Gennai and Mechanorimon. She didn't like hurting any version of Gennai and a digimon, no matter if they were merely a projection. But if she was the glare which obscured, the shadows cast by the Sun, the dark side of the moon, the light which blinds, how could she feel so bad about hurting something that was not even real?

But then again, if she was the light which illuminates, why couldn't she contact the World of Light?

_But I can,_ she thought, _I CAN do this. I can't give up. Not yet._

But they were running out of time.

"Our session's over," Gennai said gently, smiling. Then, with a playful swatting motion, he continued, "I release you back into the wild, Ms. Kamiya!"

Kari smiled back at him and nodded. "See you soo—"

She was interrupted by a loud cracking noise. Then she realized it was a shadow-laced gash ripping open the sky.

(-101021-)

There was the sound of clinking chains coming from the shackles on his wrists.

Wisemon grunted disdainfully at them.

"You cannot hold me captive forever," he said, his head bowed, his hands cupped together in his lap. He was sitting on the projection of a book that could have been about ten times his size. An ancient language, rich in culture and history, scribed over the course of those thousand pages. The cloaked digimon wore a hood that hid the entirety of his face, all except for the yellow glow of his eyes. Gold-colored wings hung limply behind him, feathers torn from their roots, scattered at his feet. A red and yellow orb hovered in the air on either sides of his shoulders, cosmic spheres between time and space, manifested through the power of his book.

The four abyssal creatures watched him in silence.

Though they could not see Wisemon's face behind the shadows of his hood, the yellow glow of his eyes narrowed; he was smiling. "What can I do to make you free me... my masters?"

"Sacrifice a deer! ...Or maybe your firstborn child. ...Well, maybe a set of virgins will do, if they're male," said the only feminine figure of the four abyssal creatures. She threw her head back in a shriek of laughter. She was a Leporidae digimon, a goddess, the matron of night who guided lost souls through the darkness.

A Goddess of Moons, laughing at him. When he said nothing, her laughter paused, then she leaned forward so that the bleak silver-tinted daylight could illuminate the ocean-gray color of her amused eyes. "You say we are your masters. You have served us these past eight years so very faithfully. But I've seen the intent in your head. It screams at me from the heavens. You will sacrifice everything – your loyalties, our faith – to save her, and she has no idea you even exist. You have not even the slightest desire to _give_ her an idea."

_Her_. Though the goddess had not referred to _her_ by name, the mere implication sent a sharp pang through Wisemon's chest. He had tried for so long and so hard to protect her. Now his plans would be for naught.

"We have no use for her yet," said another figure, to the right of the goddess. He was tall— _massive_, gargantuan— with a body shaped by shadows and darkness and bloodshed. He had three heads shifting through the amorphous blackness that was his body, each head shaped like that of a jackal's. His fetus eyes glowed red, oozing blood and volcanic smoke.

This figure had many names. He referred to himself several times as the Overlord of Darkness, but to his brethren he was the Overlord of Being Pathetic. The figure was also referred to as the Jackal, or the Thing, or the Soul Sucker. In his belly stirred the souls of a million parallel universes, billions of beings all curled up and crying out. But the figure would never release them. They were imprisoned within him. One of those souls – gone now, but for years had it been a captive inside of him – was a Demon Lord. Now that soul was somewhere else. Somewhere he could reek much more damage in the name of the Endless Ones. But that was for a later point in time— that Demon Lord, with a deadly pride, had referred to the Soul Sucker as Jackalhead. Ever since, Wisemon himself had preferred that name over any of the others.

Jackalhead and the Goddess of Moons. Had their superiors any idea what these two wildcards would accomplish with simple words? No. The master of the Endless Ones and his closest friend, his right-hand, had little patience for the other two. They had other people to see, cities to destroy, worlds to conquer, old faces to meet. Old friends to devastate.

_Her_. That was what the Goddess of Moons had called her. Just _her._ No name, no face attached to it. And yet she was the key to everything. Everything Wisemon had ever done, he had done for her, and he prayed to Huanglongmon and Yggdrasil that she never found out, because he could not give her the happiness she had long fought for.

_We have no use for her yet,_ Jackalhead had said. "Not until we get the Dark Spore. But we can't get the Dark Spore unless you help us, Wisemon. We have unleashed the beast of R'lyeh, waited six months for the stars to align for this very moment, and we have sought your book and found it. Now read it. Speak the words of the Necronomicon, and allow my Masters access to the rift between digital and reality!"

The Necronomicon. The book which was linked to Wisemon's very soul, the book which allowed him to travel through time and space and dimensions. So much had he seen through those pages, what privileges he had taken for granted.

"Please," Jackalhead pleaded. How much he must have wanted to please his lord and master— not because he loved his lord and master, but because pleasing that master would bring him one step closer to ridding the worlds of that master. Oh, traitorous Jackalhead, how you amused Wisemon so! "At one time, you were our greatest follower," Jackalhead said, "Now do us one more favor."

The two other abyssal creatures stirred. The Endless Lord and Master scoffed at Jackalhead lowering himself to Wisemon's level. After all, they were the greatest, the most powerful creatures who roamed the World of Darkness and its gray oceanic branches.

The chambers were dank and damp and silent, all but for the clinking of shackles and chains. A window splayed silver-colored light through Wisemon's cell, accompanied by the butter-warm glow of a lit white candlestick.

The Dark Ocean— the rift between the World of Darkness and Earth, Kari's Earth. Gatomon's Earth.

_Her _Earth.

"You're pathetic," the Goddess told Jackalhead. She sighed and wrapped her arms around the Wrathful Demon who ruled the four Endless Ones. Her lord and master grunted, craning his neck to look down at her simpering form, but though he stiffened, he did not pull away from her. She then directed her gaze to Wisemon. "If you do not open the rift, then we will kill her. We warned the Destined six months ago of our coming, but it is not enough to prepare for what we have in store. Perhaps if we'd given them a couple of years... but six months? She will die."

"She will die even if I do allow you access," Wisemon said.

And now the Wrathful Demon spoke. His voice was powerful, as rumbling as a shriek of thunder, and it shook the walls of Wisemon's prison cell. A crescendoing symphony infiltrated Wisemon's thoughts, rattling his brain, as the lord and master of the Endless Ones spoke to him.

"She is precious to all," the Wrathful Demon roared, "She will never die."

"But the version of her that _I _love will," Wisemon spat, rising from his spot over the Necronomicon. He pointed his scraggly, blackened, clawed finger at the Wrathful Demon and said, "Times have changed since the rise of Angels and Demons! Since the devastation of five humans, the death of the Hawk-Eyed, Golden-Haired child! The worlds of Chosen and the worlds of Tamers, the dimensions of Royal Knights and the dimensions of Olympus Gods, the realms of Great Dragons and the realms of Great Angels... None will survive this test of time! Wisemen and idiots alike will never stand a chance, and neither will she."

"But you will open the rift anyway," the Wrathful Demon said.

"I will not," Wisemon replied.

"No?" came the final voice. Though he was not lord and master of the Endless Ones, his mere voice sent chills down Wisemon's spine. He, the Dreamless Dreamer, did not move, did not slither forward on his breathless-blue tentacles and his rattling gold chains. He, too, like Wisemon, was forever shackled to this universe— until Wisemon read the Necronomicon, that is. Then he, unlike Wisemon, would be free... free forever. The Dreamless Dreamer thought he could find sanctum in this Dark Ocean, but only found more treachery and pain.

Wisemon listened to the drip of rust-ridden water as it filtered down the walls. The Dreamless Dreamer's chains sounded like a song playing in-tune to the clink of Wisemon's shackles; both prisoners to this world, dreaming of women they could not have. But the Dreamless Dreamer was done giving up.

The Dreamless Dreamer held out his hand. The hair on the back of Wisemon's neck stood on end.

"_**My patience runs thin and I'm tired of your face,"**_ the Dreamless Dreamer said.

Within seconds, Wisemon threw his head back in a shrill scream that shook the foundations of the prison cell, of the Darkhouse where he was held captive. Cracks split the walls and splinters plunged from the ceiling. Wisemon's shrieks pierced the sky as his palms clung desperately to his temples.

Once again, the Goddess of Moons threw her head back in a cold, high-pitched bellow of laughter. "You are not the only one who dreams of his other half!" she screamed, cackling. "All us Endless Things have dreamed dreamlessly since the day of our creation for this very moment, for this very opportunity! You will not stop us, Wisemon! The Dreamless Dreamer will have his Light, the Wrathful Demon will avenge the fallen child and her fallen angels, and I will touch the face of Greed!"

"I... will... not..." Wisemon clawed at the air, but he could feel the air squeezing out of his lungs. He saw flashes of time and space, of lights and darkness clashing in a violent dervish of fire and shadow. Myotismon's whip whistling in the wind, the white glow of an angel's smile, the flutter of a wing, a pointed hat flying through the air. The cries of his loved one as he dissipated into thin air. These were the things that struck him as the Dreamless Dreamer sunk deep inside his mind and sunk into his soul, biting deeper, deeper, until the creature was inside of Wisemon, deep, deep down, coiled around his heart. "I... WILL NOT... ALLOW YOU... MY SOUL..."

"You have no choice," the Goddess of Moons said, and though half her face was veiled by a white mask, Wisemon swore he could hear the smile in her voice. "You were quite an asset when you pretended to love us. But your time's run out, Wisemon. You should not have trifled with the Endless Ones."

And the Dreamless Dreamer tore into him, and Wisemon could not stop. Could not breathe. Could not think.

Blackness tore at his sight, at his heart; he thought about how he was transferred at one point to the beautiful planet of Witchelny, where he vowed to someday return to the Digital World, to Earth. It was impossible. His body had been destroyed on Earth so he could not return there. But he would find a way—

and now that dream, along with his mind, dispersed.

"Now read from the Necronomicon," said the Dreamless Dreamer, relinquishing his hold on Wisemon's heart, "And set us four free."

"Yes, my lords and masters," Wisemon whispered, the yellow glint of his eyes fading into a dead sallow glow. Then he peered down at the ancient scrawl, raised his hands to the sky, and felt the power of the universe convulse inside his chest. Red and yellow spheres of energy crackled around him.

The book of the dead would open the rift between the Dark Ocean and Earth and the Digital World, never to be closed again.

_I'm sorry,_ Wisemon whispered. _I'm so sorry._

"Summon the Triad," commanded the Goddess of Moons. "They will be first."

(-010201-)

"_**AWAKEN, GATOMON..."**_

The feline stirred. While Kari attempted to recall disembodied voices from a past she barely remembered, Gatomon, too, was facing her own disembodied voice. Who was it? She could hear it rumbling in the deepest pits of her mind, beyond the barriers of words, clashing vehemently, like a symphony of thunder. She bit down on her tongue. She tried to open her eyes, but they wouldn't budge.

She didn't recognize the voice, yet it felt familiar, almost as if she'd heard it a million times before.

It _sounded_ feminine, and definitely did not have a body – the voice was without a doubt coming from somewhere inside her head.

"_**REMEMBER YOUR PAST..."**_

_I do remember,_ Gatomon thought.

_I remembered my past a long time ago..._

_Wizardmon and Kari saw to that..._

"_**YOU DO NOT REMEMBER YOUR PAST...**_

"_**YOU REMEMBER YOUR FUTURE, THIS LIFE...**_

"_**YOU DO NOT REMEMBER WHO YOU **_**TRULY**** _ARE..."_**

Thump-thump.

Gatomon felt her heart rattle against her chest. A scalding – screaming, agonizing – pain struck her. The pain shot to her stomach, churned, then unfurled to her legs, arms, head... Though her eyes remained closed, searching through the darkness, she reached up to clutch her temples, teeth clamping down in a snarl.

Who was the voice?

What was she trying to get Gatomon to remember?

Why did her heart and her head hurt so much?

"_**REMEMBER ME, GATOMON..."**_

"Who are you?" she finally said.

A low thunderclap of laughter rumbled inside Gatomon's head. The black canvas behind her eyelids shuddered, shivered, like swarms of black-bodied insects ready to take flight, crawling over the walls of her inner-sanctum, the asylum that was inside her head.

Thump-thump.

_Ugh... _"Stop! Stop, it hurts!"

Again, her heart pounded. Another stab bludgeoned her. Faltering and falling, she collapsed in a tangle of knotted limbs.

Thump-THUMP.

"_**YOU CAN'T SUPPRESS US FOREVER...**_

"_**YOU DON'T **_**WANT**** _TO SUPPRESS US FOREVER..._**

"_**DO YOU REMEMBER HOW EASY IT WAS TO DESTROY A LIFE?**_

"_**DO YOU REMEMBER BASKING IN THE POWER MYOTISMON BESTOWED YOU?**_

"_**YES, REMEMBER... AND NEVER FORGET AGAIN..."**_

"I don't want to...!" She was shaking, quaking, her forehead pressed against the cool linoleum beneath her. THUMP. She threw her head back in a shrill scream, grabbing her chest, eyes finally snapping open to see the kitchen ceiling and the polywood counter and the wooden stools and the checkered tiles— but all of it dimmed to a thick white light as her ribs _CRNNNNCH_ed against the weight of her paw clasping frantically at her torso.

Another boom of laughter shook her mind. Though she couldn't see anything but the blinding white light, she could still feel the force of that rattling voice, the woman who creeped and crawled into her, slithering like a snake, until another burst of stabbing agony lanced through her chest.

Screaming, a spray of blood stained the white light. Gatomon fell backwards, breastbone SNAPping, and began hacking and coughing. Inky red blotches oozed from her chest where something penetrated the white shield of fur protecting her, except whatever struck her hadn't been physical, hadn't been anything at all—

_**SNNNNNNNAP**_

Clutching wildly at the bleeding wound, Gatomon cried out. The tear was widening, but there weren't any hands, she couldn't see any attacks.

It was coming from something _inside her_.

Something that was _clawing_, screaming, _dying_ to be released from its living prison of bone and blood.

And it was unshackling itself by ripping open Gatomon's chest, starting with her heart.

"WHAT ARE YOU...?"

A black, macabre hand shot out of the gaping gash in Gatomon's chest. In a flurry of movement, the hand lurched and gripped Gatomon's face. Another hand surfaced, this one coated with thick layers of blood and bone and marrow. This new hand – human-looking, despite the rotted hand clutching Gatomon – anchored itself to the linoleum.

Elbows quivering, something _else_ emerged from Gatomon: shoulders first, with a head covered in sopping-wet black hair that covered the woman's face.

"WHO...?" Gatomon once again began, but the woman's decaying hand only tightened its clutch on Gatomon's face, constricting her jowls until a light _popOP_ strangled any words.

As Gatomon flailed, the blood-bathed woman then leaned forward, back cracking, hair still veiling her face, and lightly ran her fingers down Gatomon's chin. Chuckling, streamlets of blood ushered from the corners of lips just barely visible beneath a shawl of hair. The woman boomed, "_**Oh, toots**__**... You know what I am... you know **_**who **_**I am...**_"

Whatever response Gatomon might have had, it was choked by the gushing of blood from her chest and jaw, and she felt her eyes roll up in the back of her head.

"_**I..."**_

Another titter.

"_**AM..."**_

Gatomon watched the world go black.

"_**...YOU..."**_

(-20102001-)

**Chapter II Preview:** The world has gone to hell. Digital Hell. The Endless Ones make their first move. Davis searches for Kari and Izzy searches for Gatomon. Meanwhile, TK finds himself cornered by an old-enemy-turned-teacher...

**Author's Note**: I'd like to quickly say that this story has an ensemble cast... which basically means that, while a few characters (i.e., Kari, Davis, and TK) get a bit more screentime than others, there is no specific main character to the story. All twelve of the Destined get the spotlight, character development, and plotlines.


	2. I&II Part 2: Present Harkened

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Closure" by Chavelle

(-'010102000'-)

"Jesus said to them, 'I watched Satan fall from Heaven like lightning.'"

—Luke 10:18

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session II**

... Part II: Harken to the Present ...

Gatomon thought about many things in that moment. She saw herself in a dream, sprawled out on a sandy beach, claws dragging through golden grains of sand that felt gritty and rough in her paws. Her gloves were off. Her ears were up. Her eyes were open. She was smiling.

"We can't be here forever," said a voice beside her. She looked over to her side and was not surprised to find Wizardmon lying in the sand next to her. He looked up at the sky. He'd taken off his hat, so his hair flopped over his face in a hazy mess that almost made Gatomon giggle. But his stoic expression stopped her. "She's right, Gatomon," he said, giving her a side-glance. "It's time to wake up. To remember. Kari can't remember until you do."

And then Wizardmon faded into the sky, into the angel-wing-white clouds, into an aether that then cried tears of rain that spilled into the sands and soaked them until they were gray. Then the blue, shining waves tainted into a black, gunky muck— a Dark Ocean of seething, simpering whispers and coos that called her to their depths. Things lived inside that merciless blackness, things which wanted to drag her down under and never let her surface.

Other images flashed through her mind. Tai looking for an apartment so he could leave a flustered Sora and Matt alone (_"What about that one?" "Gatomon, that's a shack." "So?"_), Kari playing with her digital camera (_"Hahah, okay, just stay right there. I have to get a shot of this. How the heck did you get jello all over your face?" "Don't ask." "It was Veemon and Agumon, wasn't it?" "I said don't ask." "They wanted you to try it. Just admit it! I promise I won't laugh!" "...I tripped and fell face-forward into it." "HAHAHAHAHAH!" "Kaaariii!" "Sorry, Gatomon..."_); memories of Davis, Shuu, and Yolei spiking the punch at Tai's Welcome Home party (he'd just gotten back from France!), a still-intoxicated Yolei snoring on the couch the morning after, of Gatomon training with Davis in hopes of improving her power, of protecting Kari, of her and Patamon lying out in the sunlight just watching the clouds go by...

What she would have given to have Patamon there with her at that moment, as that woman's head emerged from her chest...

"_**I..."**_

The digimon laughed.

"_**AM..."**_

Gatomon's world went black.

"_**...YOU..."**_

_**CRACK**_

Gatomon bolted upright. Within a second, the images all vanished. There was no woman with her head popping out of Gatomon. There was nothing. She nearly toppled off the stool she was sitting on and banged her head against the dangling pots and pans.

It was a nightmare. Just a nightmare. Just a stupid, stupid nightmare.

But then... what was the noise that woke her?

Her gaze slid to the right, where she saw a figure standing at the arch between the Kamiya kitchen and their living room. There, in the frame, hovered Kabuterimon with his arms raised in defiance. He was struggling against a figure much smaller than himself to the point where Kabuterimon's entire body eclipsed the figure's; Gatomon could not even see Kabuterimon's opponent.

"What in the world...?" she began, only for Izzy to rush in from another side and grab her wrist.

"The enemy has arrived," Izzy said, yanking her to her feet. "We have to go."

"But—" she started, but she didn't have time to finish. With a glance toward Kabuterimon, she watched as he fended off the attacker and dashed after them, yanking them off their feet and dashing out of the apartment window. Gatomon managed to see a blur of dark blue hair and dark eyes, glasses, a human shape— a familiar scent, though she couldn't place it— but then the frame popped open as Kabuterimon crashed through before she could identify their attacker, nearly tearing open a hole in the wall. "Kabuterimon!" Gatomon chided, "The Kamiyas are gonna kill you!"

"Well it was either that or get attacked!" Kabuterimon defended himself.

"By who? He was so puny I couldn't even see him!"

"Attacked by THEM!" Kabuterimon yelled, nodding toward the sky. "Besides, YOU'RE puny, but who would want to pick a fight with you?"

Gatomon was too shocked by the scenery to reply to the latter.

It was either an electrical storm or an infected wound. Gatomon didn't know, Gatomon didn't care. The only thing she knew or cared about was the fact that at least a dozen digimon were escaping through the cracks in the dark, festering clouds.

Something was opening up inside there, beyond the clouds and above the bedim, and it was about to crack and break and reveal behind it a vortex the likes of Earth had never seen before.

It happened twice before, once eight years ago when the Dark Masters took over the Digital World and the Destined were still on Earth, and once again six months ago. Though it wasn't exactly uncommon for DigiPorts to open between Earth and the Digital World – especially in recent years, now that the Digital World and Earth were aware of each other's existence – but the vortex that consumed the sky six months ago was _monstrous_. It'd eaten up the entire sky across the entire world, shining in every aether, every heaven, every inch of star and moon and sun.

They'd never seen such a DigiPort since the Dark Masters, except this DigiPort wasn't just a projection, a reflection of the new and insidious Digital World. It was dark, malevolent, flowing with unbridled, unrelenting evil energy. Though the concept was the same – a portal leading from one world to another – the two sky-wide DigiPorts looked and even _felt_ completely different. It wasn't a Digital Road that could lead Earth to the Digital World; six months ago, it was a Digital Road leading the World of Darkness to Earth.

Six months ago, every country and every island and every eye looked up at the sky and they saw something there, something malicious, and their suspicions were confirmed by the millions of corrupt digimon that poured from its crackling contents. They'd seen it, dark and frivolous; six months ago, every Destined in every part of the world fought to save their loved ones, to save _Earth._

Because if they didn't, who would?

That was six months ago, a battle with a thousand names. Six months ago, the corrupt digimon's descent was a mere warning. This time, when the vortex would open and unleash the wrath of the Endless Ones, it would be _war_.

Something dark curled up inside Gatomon's chest. She could feel the creature inside of her stir, the monster deep within— a blood thirst she thought she rid herself of the day she betrayed Myotismon.

But then again, six months ago, it was Myotismon who put her in the hospital. He and Devimon and Etemon and the Dark Masters and even Arukenimon and Mummymon were back. Maybe it was because her greatest tormentor was for a third time resurrected _(Gee, doesn't that guy know when to quit?),_ or maybe it was simply in her nature, but Gatomon could already feel the intense heat overrun her instincts. Her claws flinched. She peered at her gloves; if not for Myotismon, maybe she would be more willing to take them off.

Yes. Let the evil digimon come. She had a lot of pent-up frustration to extinguish anyway.

(-1020101-)

Davis wasn't sure where he was or what he was doing when the sky wound pierced the heavens. The only thing he _was_ sure of was that wherever he was or whatever he was doing was interrupted by the fierce beating of his heart and the rapid kick of his legs as he bolted into the city, right toward Kari's apartment. He knew she wouldn't need help. Kari could take care of herself. But he also knew that both he and Kari would be a likely target for the creatures of the Dark Ocean.

They waited six months for this moment, this catch in time and space. It was finally happening.

"Davish—" Veemon began, nodding up at the sky. Though the gash was sundering through the gray cumulus and ripping apart the ocean blue, nothing had yet surfaced from the darkness. But they both knew what it was. It was a DigiPort— a DigiPort the likes of Earth had not seen since six months ago, and eight years before that when the Dark Masters had taken over the Digital World.

The Dark Masters... Veemon and Davis still had to confront Piemon over what he did to Veemon six months ago. As Davis rushed through the blackness, the storms, the rain in order to aid Kari, Piemon had nearly killed Veemon. Davis wouldn't let that happen again, not now that they were powerful enough to face these tragedies. Compared to MaloMyotismon, and Davis would even dare say the Jackal, Piemon would be nothing... at least, he hoped.

"Davis!" called a voice behind him. He swerved around and noticed Ken and Stingmon running in his direction. They must have known Davis would immediately head toward Kari's apartment, because they arrived within seconds. "Davis, Kari's gone," Ken said in-between breaths, bending down to hold his knees. Had he run all the way from his own home?

"What do you mean?" Davis asked with frown.

"She went off to find Gatomon," Ken said, wincing. "But Gatomon's not there, either."

"Where is she?" Davis leaned forward, clamping his hands on Ken's shoulders.

"I don't know." Ken shook his head. "Izzy texted me to say he and Tentomon were able to get Gatomon out in time, but I don't know where Kari is. Maybe she saw Kabuterimon carrying off Gatomon and decided to follow them on foot."

Where...? Davis closed his eyes and concentrated.

The sky gash was appearing a week early, they hadn't prepared for it happening today. Kari— she would be the Jackal's main target! And if the Jackal came with the other Dark Ocean creatures... then maybe the Master of the Dark Ocean would find her, too. He could feel a part of his soul tremble. He remembered six months ago, when he agreed to relinquish his entire soul to the Jackal in order to save Kari's life. Kari, ever the noble girl, had already given up her own entire soul through a "Soul Contract", stating that the Jackal would not return to Earth for six months if she gave her soul to him. A deal with the Devil. But the concept of having both their souls intrigued the beast, Davis supposed—

In the end, the Jackal decided an experiment was in order. He gave them both a part of their souls back, under the contract Davis had given him. Then the Jackal laughed as he then _fused_ a part of their souls _together_, giving Davis a part of Kari's soul as Kari took a part of his (_Literal soulmates, _the Jackal mused). To top it off, Jackal kept one-third of their souls.

So inside of Davis was a part of Kari, and another part that was empty, and another part that was all his own. Davis was yet unaware of the ramifications of this, but he was sure now that the Endless Ones were touching down, they would all find out why the Jackal had done these terrible things to them.

Because of this connection, he was sometimes able to sense Kari's location. Sometimes it was annoying, like if she going to the bathroom or watching a sappy romance movie. That was when it got awkward, because then he could feel the things she was feeling and could see the things she saw. It led to too many embarrassing situations, especially when she did the same thing; how many times had they accidentally seen each other in the shower, or masturbating, or farting in a private room where they didn't think anyone would notice? So many times, Davis had been inside her head without meaning to or even realizing it, and so many times had the same thing occurred to her. There were times when someone would ask Kari a question and Davis, thinking _he_ was Kari for some odd reason, would answer at the same exact time she did.

It got frustrating, confusing, and annoying sometimes, especially because Kari was so independent. She'd had enough people in her head and she definitely didn't need _Davis_ doing the same thing to her, even if it was unintentional. And he had a private side to himself, as well, that he didn't want anyone to see, even Kari.

But then there were the times when such a connection was a good thing. Sometimes Davis could sense when Kari was lonely or disappointed in herself, or if she was feeling insecure and useless. Though in the past ten or so years they'd known each other he had gotten pretty good at noticing these aspects on his own, there were times when he was unable to see Kari for days at a time due to training or school or traveling. It was in those moments of separation that he was able to sense her need for him, for _somebody_, and he could call her up or walk over to her house. If he couldn't physically be there for her, he'd ask TK and Patamon or Yolei and Hawkmon to boost her up, if they weren't already doing that by the time he managed to get a hold of them.

It wasn't uncommon for Kari to do something similar for him when he was feeling down. He'd find things left scattered somewhere she knew he'd find it, things she knew would make him smile, like a box of Dragonball Z band-aids or a book titled "Fool For Love". Once or twice he followed a trail of plucked rose petals to a bouquet of flowers, or she'd leave him a note or two filled with terrible, awful puns he found absolutely hilarious. One time she got Veemon to serenade him. Ken and Wormmon would "coincidentally" find him sprawled out on a soccer field and offer to play a game with him and Veemon, or Cody and Armadillomon would join him when he went to the park. The park was another place Davis went to in order to clear his head, though he didn't go there nearly as often as the soccer field.

It was moments like these that he wished he could stand out on that plain of green grass and white spray paint, breathing in the honeysuckle wind and the stench of soil and crabgrass. He loved the way the sunlight glinted off the blades of grass as the breeze pushed against them.

But now was not the time to go there, to experience that. Because now was the time for war.

"She's heading toward Matt and Sora's place," Davis told Ken. "She saw Izzy, Kabuterimon, and Gatomon heading in that direction. Tai and Agumon must be over there, too..."

"She'll be okay, Davis," Ken whispered. Davis must have looked really worried because Ken clasped his shoulder tightly. "Out of any of us, you and Kari are best able to control those powers of yours. According to Tai, Kari's been showing powers since she was 8. She'll be okay."

"Yeah!" Veemon said with a big grin. He smiled at Wormmon, who nodded in assent. "Kari can take care of herself!"

"Let's just focus on protecting ourselves until we can meet with everyone," Wormmon added.

Davis took a deep breath. They were right, of course. "Ken, let's send out a message to the others. We should meet at Matt and Sora's, since so many people are heading there already anyway."

Without a word, Ken nodded and took out his D3.

As they did so, a glow of light exploded around Veemon and Wormmon.

"VEEMON ARMOR DIGIVOLVE TO..."

"WORMMON ARMOR DIGIVOLVE TO..."

Ovals the shape of eggs burst around their rookie bodies. Without a second to spare, the eggs shattered around their bodies, forcing two completely different-looking digimon to emerge from the force of digital energy.

"ExVeemon!" called the creature who was once Davis's Veemon.

"Stingmon!" called the creature who was once Ken's Wormmon.

In their places stood a blue dinosaur-like digimon with a silver X across his chest and, beside him, a anthropomorphic insect with dark green, almost black skin. Together, the two digimon grabbed their partners and bolted in the direction of Matt and Sora's flat.

_I once said, _Davis reflected, _that MaloMyotismon could not manipulate me because I was perfectly happy with who I was. This was a huge change for me, a moment of growth— so many times that year, I'd demanded Kari's attention, shouted at my teammates for things they didn't deserve, acted brashly and arrogantly. At the time, it was the only way to get attention. If I didn't act jealously whenever TK was around, would Kari even respond angrily to me, or would she simply walk away every time without even a glance toward me? No, I thought it would be better for her to talk to me, even if it was to tell me I was being a jerk._

_And I was being a jerk._

_But that moment... in that dream realm... the only thing I wanted in the entire world was to _save_ that world. I didn't want Kari to myself, I didn't want Veemon to rush into some digivolution, I didn't want to be the best soccer player or to beat TK in every little thing. I didn't want my mom and dad and my peers to notice my accomplishments even though I grew up wanting their approval so badly. The thing I wanted most was not attention and recognition. No. What I wanted, what I _**needed**_, was to realize that I was completely and irresistibly satisfied with the man I was becoming, that all I wanted was more power, more _pride_. To defeat MaloMyotismon._

_Can I say that now?_

_Did I have more maturity as an 11-year-old boy just searching to save his friends?_

_I don't just want to save the world anymore. I want more than that now. I want my future. I want the safety of Kari and Veemon, and all the Destined. I want to be as good of a person as I can be. I want my soul back and to get Kari's soul back. I want the happiness of my friends. I want to do what's best for them, but how can I do that while also worrying about my own happiness? I know that's selfish, and I hate that part of myself sometimes. The stubborn side._

_MaloMyotismon couldn't hurt me because I was satisfied with who I was. I was happy with 11-year-old Davis._

_Am I still happy with him?_

_Kari sometimes talks about a darkness inside her heart. Maybe I've got that darkness now, too. Maybe both her and I have that pain inside of us that we can't escape, no matter how much we chase the light, the courage, the friendship... Maybe all the things we prepared for these past six months will be for nothing and we'll fail, because we aren't the kids we used to be anymore._

_We're growing up! We're not the same people! We don't have the same hopes and dreams!_

_Am I still enough?_

_Or is it time for another digi-team, like how Tai and the others were kicked out when Yolei, Cody, Ken, and I showed up? Or what about the five Destined before them?_

_Maybe that's because adults are never enough._

Before Davis's train of thought could go much further, however, his trek to Matt and Sora's flat was interrupted by a roar of thunder that shattered the sky above them. He and ExVeemon had less than a second to dodge a bolt of lightning that careened from the sky and struck the concrete. Only a smoking crater remained where the lightning hit— a smoking crater, and a figure, lying in the center of the debris.

Davis and ExVeemon were so high up that neither of them could see many details beyond his naked body and the flaxen, slightly scorched hair that fell in a ponytail behind his head. The figure twitched.

Had he been struck by the lightning? But if so, how could he still be alive when the lightning had enough force to create a crater? "Ken!" Davis called out to his friend. Ken and Stingmon immediately halted and twisted around to see Davis and ExVeemon. Davis pointed at the figure and Ken immediately gave a nod of acknowledgment.

The four glided in the figure's direction. Soon it was clear the figure was a male, maybe Davis's age or a couple of years older. The closer Davis, Ken, and their partners approached him, the more he moved— that is, until he whirled on the spot and peered up at them with bloodshot, pale blue eyes and held out a hand in their direction.

From the blond man's palm exploded a sunburst of crackling green light that lanced straight through none other than _Halsemon's_ shoulder blades.

(-101201-)

"_TK... I'll come back again... If you want me to."_

And then Angemon faded into the aether, leaving but a few stray white feathers behind. They delicately fluttered through the air, a memento mori of the friend TK loved and lost.

Angemon's final words were the nightmare TK revisited that night as he stirred beneath the covers. Several times, he opened his eyes a slit to see Devimon stooped over a campfire, staring into the flames. Every time, TK fought the urge to bolt to his feet and attack the devil, and every time, he managed to suppress it even though every atom was screaming in his body to let loose on the digimon who took his partner from him.

_But Patamon's still here,_ he thought, glancing toward the rookie digimon, cuddled in TK's arms, his head resting against TK's chest. He must have crawled inside TK's sleeping bag during the coldest part of the night.

Later that day, closer to noon, TK watched Devimon sleep.

He didn't do it often. That would have been creepy, even creepier than Devimon himself. But he did do it sometimes, mostly without meaning to. He would think about how he got himself in this impossible situation, how Devimon was now such a valuable asset instead of such a hated enemy.

But he was still hated, wasn't he? Still a monster deemed gross and destructive? He had taken Patamon from TK. Not only that, but he had been the beginning, the very genesis of the Destined's troubles. When TK thought of Devimon, he thought of the start of it all. Would he have ever met Patamon if not for Devimon in the first place?

That was a messed-up thought... that TK would have never met his best friend if not for the creature who had nearly separated them forever. Sure, there was Etemon and Myotismon and the Dark Masters and Apocalymon who came after Devimon, then there was the Digimon Emperor, Mummymon and Arukenimon and BlackWarGreymon after him, and MaloMyotismon after them. So it was stupid to think that if Devimon never existed, maybe the bond between Patamon and TK would have never existed— but it was a thought, a dark whisper in the corners of his mind.

Six months ago, corrupt digimon had erupted from the DigiPort in the sky. It spread like a wound over the entire world, spilling their old "friends" right on their front lawns, ready to fight. But Devimon did not come bearing arms; instead, he came bearing an olive branch.

He'd said to Patamon, _"Both you and I know that there's trouble headed our way, Patamon. Real trouble. Bigger than you or me, or anyone we have ever faced before. The only difference between you and me—at least, in this situation—is that I know the faces of the greatest evil. They made me, after all._

_"I've seen the power of the Endless Ones... I have witnessed it many times, in-person and out. After everything the Destined did back then, I was permanently sent to the World of Darkness, where I was to rise up and become a lord of the land._

"_I've seen the dawn of many mornings, Patamon. But on one of those mornings, years long before the Chosen were a twinkle in destiny's eye, a choice was made, and destiny was woven, and a demon was created. At one time, this demon was an angel, a saint, a brilliant composer of hope. Eventually, of course, he—and, in turn, myself—were marred by the humanity you've set out to protect. He, like I, am searching for revenge. You see, Patamon... You and I... we are a lot more alike than you think._

_"Do you think digimon are born evil? At one time, I was just like you. I had someone to love and protect— not a partner, no, but still someone I loved. Someone I should have protected. And I was powerful, and loving, and even merciful. But that was before my masters fell. I don't want to be like that again. Frankly, I think you all are a bunch of stupid fundamental shitheads. The thing, though, is that I can't take the storm on by myself. And I'm not taking orders. Not from you, not from those damn Endless Ones. I stopped taking orders that day, a long time ago... So... That means... like you need my help... I need yours."_

And that was the moment that started it all, really. Devimon was right. The Destined knew nothing of their enemies and their enemies were much bigger than both them and Devimon combined, and Devimon was unwilling to be ruled by anyone, no matter how much more powerful than he they were. He would not be a tool, even if it meant allying himself for a brief time with the Destined themselves. And the Destined were in no position to deny help, even if it came from one of their most hated enemies.

TK did not know why Devimon specifically sought out him and Patamon. Tai and Agumon, Matt and Gabumon, Davis and Veemon, and Ken and Wormmon were much more powerful teams than he and Patamon, and they had more international influence, as well. At least that was TK's opinion. But then again, Patamon and Devimon had killed each other. Perhaps that fascinated Devimon. Perhaps that made him burn up inside. Perhaps he regretted it.

All TK knew was that he despised Devimon. Devimon was the digimon who made him so prejudiced against other dark digimon. He was the virus who made TK's heart hurt to think about other dark-aligned digimon and the things they could do to the ones TK loved. TK knew that not all dark digimon were evil, but a lot of them were. That scared him.

What scared him more was that he accepted Devimon's offer to train him and Patamon.

But it gave him an opportunity to get stronger. For Patamon to train with a digimon who wouldn't go easy on him, an opponent he wouldn't feel obligated to go easy on. Patamon, while fierce, was also an incredibly kind digimon who was not likely to put up much of a fight against someone he actually liked, unless they angered him, but that wasn't often. Devimon wanted Patamon to defeat him while also remaining in his rookie stage.

Aside from that, it would also give TK time to experiment with the newest evolution. TK had no idea why it was only now that they could unlock it, what triggered it or what unleashed the ability. He knew none of the Destined were able to do it before. But either way, Kari and Davis could already use it easily and he couldn't let himself fall behind— not this time. He, too, would activate the ability to fight side-by-side with Patamon. That way when the time came for Devimon to betray them, Angemon would not need to face him alone.

TK hadn't returned home in a week.

His mother would understand. She would be stressed and worried and terrified, yes, but understanding. She already knew things would be hectic considering how close it was to the deadline. Six months had already flown by and TK and Patamon were desperate to get in as much training as possible, to extract as much _information_ as possible from Devimon about their enemies. But the evil digimon wouldn't say much, not even their identities, no matter how much TK and Patamon pestered him.

Now it was midday, and Devimon was perched on the tallest bough of a tree nearby, his head cradled in his hands. He could have been the statue of a gargoyle on a church ledge— protector of the faith. Of hope. How much the thought disgusted TK, but Devimon looked almost – _almost_ – vulnerable in that moment of blissful sleep.

TK fought the urge to launch a rock at him.

As if he could hear TK's thoughts, Devimon snarled (his eyes still closed), "Do it and I will annihilate you."

TK smirked. "Promise?"

"Only for you."

"And it's not even my birthday." TK whipped the stone at him. Devimon hissed and ducked his head just in time to avoid it, then swung around the bough to lunge at the human boy. TK's grin hadn't wavered a centimeter before he motioned to elbow the launching creature in the gut. Devimon laughed and swerved, dodging it. Patamon, who had still been asleep, woke suddenly to the commotion.

"Aww, guys, this early in the morning?" he called out, rolling out of the way just in time to avoid Devimon's attack.

TK burst out laughing. "It's noon!"

"Yeah, early!"

"Lazy imbecile!" Devimon snorted. His fist plowed into the ground at Patamon's hooves.

Patamon blinked. "Woofta, that was close! Jeez, Devimon, you're getting slow... Or maybe you were always slow?"

Patamon said it so blatantly and honestly that Devimon actually pouted. How could the squirt dodge it, TK was sure he was wondering. Such an arrogant villain. Then again, when hadn't they faced an arrogant villain?

Could Devimon even still be called a villain?

Two nights ago, TK caught Devimon watching him as he slept. It reminded him of how he would sometimes watch Devimon. More often than not, he'd catch Devimon watching over Patamon. That was two nights ago, but two _months_ ago he found Devimon fighting off a Gizamon that somehow got loose on Earth. It tried to jump Patamon while the rookie slept, but only TK had been woken up by the commotion. He tried to close his eyes again before Devimon could notice him. It was like seeing something private, something embarrassing; Devimon saving Patamon's life without anyone even realizing it. TK knew Devimon certainly wouldn't want them to know about it.

He tried not to think about that, though. TK didn't know why, but something deep inside of him, something dark and angry, tried to latch on to the memory of Devimon's smirking face as Angemon faded to the sky. His laugh as he told them Angemon's sacrifice was worthless because Devimon was merely the least horrific of their foes. That triumphant look of knowing, of victory even though he, too, was dying. The victory had been unsatisfactory because, even though Angemon had stopped Devimon's plans, Devimon still had the last laugh. He still had the satisfaction of knowing he went down fighting; he went down taking his killer with him.

And then Devimon's claws plunged through the Gizamon. It gasped for awhile, then it disappeared. It didn't flutter away to the sky as data bytes, oddly enough; TK heard the digimon limping away, dragging its wounded limb. Devimon muttered something TK couldn't understand. Either way, the evil digimon had allowed Gizamon to live— Devimon had allowed Patamon to not be attacked.

Why?

TK knew Devimon needed the two of them alive for the battle. But Devimon would have killed the Gizamon rather than spare its life. He also would have let the Gizamon play a bit with Patamon before stopping it.

"PAY ATTENTION, IDIOT."

_**WHACK**_

TK's back smashed against a tree. He rolled forward against the impact and gasped. _Okay,_ he thought, _Enough with thinking about how good Devimon could be!_

"Devimon!" cried a girlish voice from behind TK. Devimon had been holding Patamon by the throat, his elbow drawn back to deliver a harsh blow. As the woman's voice filled the area, all three fighters instantly halted and craned their necks to see who spoke.

She was pretty. Older than TK, but pretty. He'd seen her a couple of times at Yolei's house whenever he came to visit. She was good friends with Mimi and Jun, too. Her name was Momoe, and she was Yolei's older sister. She was holding her mouth, looking pale and shocked; beside her, TK could see a sighing Jun who gave him a sympathetic look as she rubbed the back of her head.

She tried to pull Momoe away. "See? Told you it was a bad idea. They're gettin' all hot an' bothered. Wait." Jun tried to suppress a giggle. "Maybe this was_n't_ such a bad idea!"

"Look at his eye!" Momoe screeched, pointing at where Devimon's right eye was swelling up from one of Patamon's headbutts. "Oh, you poor thing!"

Devimon lifted up a lip in a growl. "Are these _friends_ of yours?" Devimon snarled at TK and Patamon.

"Friends? Pah!" Jun said with a slight grin. TK blinked in her direction. She looked back at him, right in the eye. "Just look at that. Mmm-mm! You can't be _friends_ with that walkin' around. We may be _looovers._"

"Like, the four of us?" Momoe, too, blinked at Jun. "'Cause I don't mean to be a downer, but... Patamon... um... can't... um... The _anatomy_, Jun, think of the _anatomy_!"

"Oh, God, Momoe!" Jun slammed her palm against her forehead.

Devimon glared and snapped, "Is there a point to this intrusion?"

"Intrusion?" Jun pointed at Devimon with a glare. "Sorry to burst your dark creepy bubble, buddy, but this is a public campsite! Anyone can go here anytime they please and you have no right to stop 'em!"

"I got your favorite..." Momoe told Devimon, her eyes brightening a little. Devimon did not have time to reply to Jun; he opened his mouth to spit out something vile when his eyes flickered in the direction of Momoe's hand, where she gripped a plastic bag. TK grinned. Momoe's parents owned a convenience store, so sometimes Yolei and Hawkmon would show up during their training sessions to deliver little drinks and snacks. Momoe had never shown up before, but she knew about Devimon and had seen him a couple of times.

Yolei must have told Momoe Devimon's one weakness.

Almost immediately, Devimon released Patamon's neck and sat down on the ground, crossing his legs. He gave an annoyed grunt. "Well," he said, holding out a hand as he avoided Momoe's gaze. "Hand it over, then, you unsavory bag of bones."

"Teehee." Momoe reached inside the plastic bag and plopped a packaged Twinkie in Devimon's palm. Devimon blinked down at it, then looked back at her with a raised eye ridge. "Oh, right," Momoe said with a cough, then delivered a second package of Twinkies.

Grunting, Devimon began to devour the Hostess snacks without even a thank you. Momoe was beaming as she watched him.

Jun snickered. "It's like deer feeding."

TK almost busted out laughing himself until he realized Devimon had heard the comment and was now glaring in their direction. Without thinking about it, TK jerked Jun off her feet and yanked her on his back, forcing her into a piggy-back ride, then bolted as far away from the demon as he could get. He dodged the attack just in time; there was a smoking crater where Jun had been standing two seconds before, and Devimon was rumbling to his feet.

"I am not some filthy animal, you disgusting waste of air!" Devimon bellowed. "I am DEVIMON, the King of Hell!"

"You really pissed him off," TK said with a grin. "Good job."

"King of Hell? More like King of Bad Hygiene!" Jun giggled. "Are you angry because I don't kiss your feet? Not even if you paid me, honey!"

Devimon roared. "Don't flatter yourself. Who are you kidding? The only one you have a chance with is _Betsumon_, you oozing popping shit-pustule of everything that is wrong with humanity! Now quit moving, you insects!"

"You sound like Etemon!" TK laughed. "He was always making stupid demands like 'stop trying to survive'!"

"ETEMON? You put me on the same level as THAT idiot?" Devimon actually looked _hurt_.

At least until he punched TK full-fledged in the face.

He stumbled back, dropping Jun. Jun got ahold of her own momentum before he did and managed to catch him. His head landed right in her hands, her strong cheerleader arms bursting forward so that they could support his back. Within a second, his tangled body twisted around so that his shoulder blades plowed into her chest, and soon they both hit the ground with a rumbling _**whump**_.

Patamon muttered his name and motioned to help him when Devimon turned on him and fired off a blast of dark purple energy. Patamon barely ducked in time.

"Break's over!" Devimon roared.

"Break? What break? _Your _break?" TK shouted. Jun groaned and rubbed her head as she stumbled to a stand. She offered her hand to TK, who blinked up at her.

He didn't have time to accept it before Devimon attacked him again.

"No, Devimon! Enough! Jun didn't mean anything by it!" Momoe called. She latched onto his back. Devimon hissed and tried to elbow her off, but she was so tiny in comparison to him that she mostly just flopped around, clinging to his neck, trying hard not to fly off of him by the force of his jabs. "Don't hurt Jun or TK or Patamon! I didn't feed you because you're a deer!"

"Of course you didn't, because I'm not a deer!" he screamed.

"I meant— I meant—"

"Momoe's just a good person," Jun mumbled, helping TK up, still wincing. "Devimon, she knows no one likes you. So she's giving you a chance. Even though you deserve everyone's hate."

"I do deserve it," Devimon replied, glaring at her. "I've worked hard to earn that hate."

"It's hard to hate you?" TK snickered.

Jun grunted. "C'mon, Momoe, it's not worth it."

"He's like Davis on a bad day, Jun! C'mon!" Momoe clapped her hands together in a pleading gesture.

Jun almost laughed. "This is nothing compared to Davis on a bad day."

"Hey, that's my friend you're talking about," TK said, withholding a chuckle. He knew Jun wasn't being serious. After all, she loved her brother. But it was still a rather cruel remark to make, and very severe of her brother. TK could never imagine paralleling Devimon with Matt, or how betrayed TK would feel if Matt compared him to Devimon. Even as a joke.

Suddenly, Jun comparing Davis to Devimon made TK sick. "Seriously," TK said, brow furrowing. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"What, about how you both like punching each other just like you and Devimon?" Jun laughed.

TK's stoic expression wavered. He _did_ have fun punching Devimon's face in everyday. And Davis and he were known for taking out steam on each other sometimes. But still, those were two very different reasons for all the violence, and TK never really _liked_ getting into it with Davis. It was just a consequence of a lot of bad events.

"Cool it, cutie," Jun said, leaning toward him. "I meant that _Davis_ likes punching _you_." She paused. "Wait, no. I take that back. You like punching him. You just don't like admitting it."

"You don't know me—" TK said, though his tone came out a lot harsher than he meant it to. He didn't know Jun very well, either. The only thing he really knew about her, besides the fact that she was Davis's sister, was that she had a weird obsession with his brother that had slowly faded over time due to his relationship with Sora. That, and that she'd recently discovered she, too, was a Destined, though her partner was no where to be seen.

As it came out of his mouth, Jun stopped him. "I don't know you. But it's not like I haven't tried to."

TK opened his mouth to reply when Devimon smashed his knuckles into it. TK flipped to the side and crashed into a tree. Grimacing, he looked up just in time to see Devimon raise a hand to Jun. Jun looked up at him, eyes wide— now _she_ was the deer, caught in the headlights— and she didn't even have enough time to wince and look away—

"No!" Momoe sobbed, her grip tightening around Devimon's neck. "She's not a digimon like Patamon and she's not a Destined with freaky super powers like TK, you can't just rail on her, Devimon! You could kill her!"

An inch away from her face, Devimon's fist halted. He stared into Jun's frightened eyes. Then, once it was clear his fist wouldn't budge, Jun's resolve returned along with the color in her face. In fact, the color turned into a bright red.

"Seriously, dude?" The flush deepened to a furious cherry hue. "_Issues._"

With that, Jun stomped away, flailing her arms in the air. "You people are CRRRRAZY. Not that I don't love it or anything, but oh my GOD. It's called MEDS. _You need them. It is a required thing._"

Devimon didn't respond. Instead, Momoe flopped off his back and landed with a tilt on her feet. She tipped and nearly fell, but Devimon steadied her by the arm. She looked up at him as he helped. He avoided her gaze and instead looked off in the distance, expressionless, as if he hadn't done a thing.

She watched him a couple more seconds, then smiled. "I'll be back tomorrow with more Twinkies!"

Devimon grunted and turned away.

"Jun!" TK rushed after her as she went ranting deeper into the forest. As he approached her, she slowed her gait. Only about several feet in did he realize she was limping. But how could she be limping? It wasn't like she fought at all with— _The fall,_ he thought, frowning. _When she tried to catch me..._ He lightly gripped her shoulder to stop her. "Jun, you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Jun said, shrugging off his shoulder. "Just almost died for cracking a joke. No big deal."

"It's Devimon," TK replied, tilting his head to the side as if that explained everything. By Jun's expression, he could tell it wasn't a good excuse. She should have known better to make a crack in the presence of an _asshole_, sure, but it was in Jun's nature to never take anything seriously. She was a lot like Davis in that way, although there were plenty of times when Davis took himself _too_ seriously. It was a fragile balance with her brother. Jun just tended to never be serious ever. But then again...

When he thought about it, just like Jun did not know him, he did not know her. So how could he really say that about her when he'd seen her so few times?

"I'm sorry about your ankle," he said, reaching out to touch it. "I can wrap it for you. We have a medical kit."

Jun stared at him, then looked away. "It's nothing, really. No big." Her look swerved back to him, complimented by a grin. "Unless you're trying to hit on me. Maybe then I'll pretend this actually hurts."

"Jun..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she sighed, waving a hand. "You're a little young for me, anyway!"

"Just pick a log, any log." TK motioned to the surrounding forestry. Jun hesitated again. Why didn't she want him to help her? Either way, she limped over to the nearest one and sat down, wincing. It didn't take long for TK to retrieve the kit and gently remove her shoe and sock. The entire time, she looked like she was about to puke. "I don't think it's broken, but you might wanna have Joe take a look at it."

"Or his brother," she said. Her dreamy sigh was interrupted by a hissing wince as TK's fingers fumbled with the wrap.

"Sorry," he said. "Which one? Shin?" 

"Oh God no, Shin's an ass," Jun replied with a laugh. "I mean Shuu. He's so cool."

She hissed again. TK frowned. "So you're that kind of person? The kind who goes from one person to another at the drop of a hat?"

He sounded angrier than he meant to. He didn't know why it bugged him so much. Maybe it didn't bug him, maybe he just didn't understand that mentality. TK briefly wished he could see Kari more often. Between training with Devimon and Kari's training with Gennai, they hadn't had much time to catch up. Maybe if he talked to her, he could sort out all the weird feelings in his head. Things like Devimon. Like Patamon. How TK didn't hate Devimon as much as he used to, which didn't make any sense. Things like flirtatious people.

Jun blinked at him. "It's not like it's hurting anybody. Unless you'd prefer I remain stuck on your brother forever?" When TK pointedly didn't answer, she went on, "I'm not going to whine over boys I have no chance of being with. If they can't see what a great catch I am, they're not worth my tears. Matt is a great guy and I'm glad he's happy, and it hurt a lot to realize I stood no chance of being with him no matter how hard I tried, but I'm not going to cry forever. Besides, I'm a strong, independent, beautiful, and smart young woman. I'm not going to waste my time on boys who don't even want it! I'm not even out of college yet, I'm not gonna' get hung up on some guy I won't care about ten years from now!"

TK almost laughed. "Okay, okay, I understand," he said, smiling at her. When she saw his expression, she eyed him suspiciously, then reluctantly smiled back. TK could understand that point of view. Though it wasn't particularly his own, he got it. She was young and what was the point of youth if you didn't live in the moment? TK shook his head. Why was he thinking about this? Maybe to stunt his own fear. Maybe to keep him hoping that not everything was going to hell.

He continued wrapping her ankle until he realized she was still staring at him. Not his hands. Not her foot. But his face. He glanced at her eyes, then back at her foot. "Almost done."

"You're a really nice person, aren't you?" she whispered, almost as if it were some deep dark secret. "The way Davis used to talk about you, I thought you were a bit of a douche or a tool. You know, cute face but terrible personality. Then again, Davis doesn't talk shit anymore. Well, about you anyway. Well, maybe a little. But now he says good things about you. Well, mostly. But I thought he was just trying to get along with you because he had to. I'm starting to think you're actually genuinely nice."

TK smiled. "I'd hope so. Though..." He paused, then shook his head. "Never mind."

"Though what?" she pressed. "C'mon, can't set me up like that just to let me down."

His brow furrowed. Why would he bring up something like this with Jun of all people? He barely even knew her, and it wasn't like she had a tendency of keeping secrets. In fact, he could see her blackmailing him for a date or something. She just seemed like that kind of person— sure, she had a good heart, but she also had her flaws, too, some of which were quite petty. And she'd blackmailed Matt before for a date.

But who else could he tell? Matt was always so busy. Tai had been traveling the world for the past six months. Kari was training with Gennai. Davis was traveling the Digital World trying to get a hold of Azulongmon and Oikawa's spirit. There was Patamon, sure, but TK had a feeling they were both confused about the same thing. Maybe it would have been best if they sorted their feelings on their own, but there was a frustration building inside of him. He needed to vent, but who could he turn to? Maybe a stranger was the best option... but the problem was that this stranger in particular knew people, a lot of people, who were not strangers to him. And this was no one's business but his own.

But it hurt to keep it cooped up inside all the time.

He paused, then said, "I'm not always a nice person. I can be pretty awful, too."

"What, are you the kind of person who thinks they'll go to Hell for littering?"

"I'm the kind of person who is prejudiced against an entire race of digimon for the actions of only a few," he said. His voice broke on the last word and he had to let go of Jun's foot in order to pull away.

_No,_ he thought, _No, not here, not now. Not with this person, this stranger._

He turned his back to her and bit down on his hand. He didn't think referencing it would have this much of an impact on him. He hadn't even said much or explained it, but all of a sudden, it came spilling out of him; he couldn't stop it. Like a tidal wave washing upon the shore, destroying one more layer of sand and grind. He tried to clear the croak in his voice.

_Stop,_ he thought, _You have to stop now._

He heard a rustling from Jun behind him. Then he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.

"TK..."

Whatever Jun was about to say, it was interrupted by a loud crash. TK and Jun were separated by a bright flash of glowing black light – though how a light could be black, TK wasn't sure – and Jun was tossed to the ground several feet away. She hit it hard, forcing a yelp out of her. TK called out her name, but he wasn't sure she could hear him; she managed to clumsily stand, grabbing her head, blinking furiously.

He looked around for the source of the attack. Was Devimon concealing a trump card all this time? No, that couldn't be it. He looked up at the sky, where he saw the DigiPort rip open the blue canvas. A storm had arrived.

TK gave one glance to Devimon in the distance. Their gazes connected.

"Jun, I want you to go into town," TK said, rushing over to her. She was slowly regaining her balance. She shook her head.

"I can't," she said, blinking back tears. "I'm no good, I can't—"

"You _can. _I know it's hard, but you have to. Don't ever think it's impossible. There was a time when I didn't think I was any good either, a time when I was sure I was the most useless Destined who ever existed. But then I realized I was one of the strongest. You can do this," he said. "You're one of the few Destined on this planet so it's your responsibility to protect the townspeople. Gather as many people as you can in a protective place, a place where you can board up the building and guard all the exits with your partner."

"The café," Jun muttered, holding her forehead. "I'll... get Momoe... that's where our partners are... They must be so worried... We'll protect as many people as we can."

"That's the Motomiya spirit," TK said, holding her arm tightly. He gave her an abetting smile, which she reluctantly and sadly returned. "Go to them."

Something behind Jun's eyes snapped toward him. There was no haze, no befuddled confusion in them. She cleared away the blurriness and looked him in the eye. Her hand lurched forward and grabbed his, catching it from her arm. "Be careful," she said. Then, after a short pause, added, "For Davis's sake."

"Yeah, for Davis," he said with a slight grin.

Jun grinned back. That was all she got in before another flash-strike shook the ground at their feet. She was torn from his hand and stumbled in Momoe's direction. TK, too, headed in that direction, but only because it was in the same direction as Patamon and Devimon.

Momoe did not need to hear Jun's voice to know what she was going to say. The girl looked up at Devimon and gave a sad smile. "Okay, maybe we'll have to a put a hold on those Twinkie plans."

Devimon raised a brow, but in the end asked, "Why?"

"Because of the fight," she prodded with a frown. "Why else, silly?"

"I'm getting my damned Twinkie tomorrow," Devimon growled, glaring at her. "Damned to my stomach!"

Momoe blinked and looked shocked. Then, laughing, she said, "Okay, okay! I'll bring double the usual just for you!"

Devimon brightened up a bit at this, but only enough to barely show it. He looked up at the sky, then back at her and replied, "So... You damn humans are so fragile, you'll probably trip on a pebble or something and die, but I can't have those twinkies if you're dead. And I want what I want. So don't die."

Momoe giggled. "Suuuure, it's aaaaall about the Twinkies."

"It is." Devimon glared. "You arrogant insect. You think I care about you?"

"Yes, I do!" Momoe giggled again and grabbed Jun by the elbow. "Buh-bye, Devimon! Bye, TK and Patamon! Mwaaaaaah!"

"Bye, Momoe!" Patamon cheerfully called after her, flapping his ears with a big smile. "Thanks for the treats!"

The three watched the two disappear in the foliage. None of them said anything for a while. TK thought about all the different things and feelings he experienced in the past six months; the realizations, the situations... the emotional roller coasters... Patamon remembered the hospital, where Devimon had stabbed TK in order to stop him from allowing Patamon to digivolve and wipe out Devimon again. Devimon thought about Twinkies— and, of course, his Master.

Ohhh, his Master... Little did Devimon speak of him to TK, but they all knew he had a close connection with these "Endless Ones"— never a name mentioned, never any physical assets described, but there was a presence. A malevolence.

Devimon dreaded his old master. A master he'd had long ago in ancient times, in a world where he had been at the right-hand of the Digital World's ruler. Long ago was that, but it was the golden age Devimon remembered most fondly. But that was also a time when he was a pawn and not a king. It would no longer suit him, not for a long time.

"We should find Gatomon," Devimon said after a moment. "Protect her."

But before TK or Patamon could ask why, Devimon took off— right for the city.

Their storm had been building for six months. It finally arrived.

Little had they known that the storm had been brewing since the very genesis of the Digital World.

"Look!" called Patamon, tugging on TK's sleeve. They saw a bright blue bolt of lightning touch down in the city nearby— it wasn't just a bolt, though, was it? There was something else about it, something sinister. TK and Patamon nodded to each other, then Devimon.

They knew their destination. Wherever that bolt touched down was where the action would be. That was where Gatomon would end up.

(-To be continued...-)

**Preview for Next Chapter:** Cody's heart and mind are in conflict. His instincts tell him to meet the others, but his need for revenge brings out a side to him he has never quite experienced before. As Izzy and Gennai play a game of chess, Izzy thinks about how numbers shape his reality. Meanwhile, Joe walks in on Mimi... in bed... with his brother... _both _brothers. What in the world? In the midst of the storm, Matt, Sora, their partners, and Mrs. Takenouchi are attacked by an unknown superhuman with abilities similar to Davis and Kari's.


	3. I&III Part 3: Future Harkened

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Tonight, Tonight" by The Smashing Pumpkins

**Author's Note:** I am going to change the date of each published chapter. I have more Thursdays off work than Wednesdays, and I find it a better time to edit chapters before putting them up, so Lighthouse will officially begin updating every Monday and THURSDAY instead (one chapter posted today because it feels like the five-day wait between Wednesday and Monday is too long). :) This chapter feels a little off to me, but luckily story really gets going soon within the next couple chapters. I also want to say thank you again to everyone who has reviewed, and everyone else who has taken an interest in this story but hasn't spoken up. I hope to continue entertaining you. :)

(-'010102000'-)

"Tonight, so bright

Tonight

We'll crucify the insincere tonight

We'll make things right, we'll feel it all tonight,

We'll find a way to offer up the night tonight

The indescribable moments of your life tonight

The impossible is possible tonight"

—"Tonight, Tonight" by The Smashing Pumpkins

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session III**

... Part III: Harken to the Future ...

Cody Hida and Armadillomon saw the lightning bolt the same time as most of the others. Cody's instincts told him not to investigate quite yet, to instead find the others and then go to the disaster site. After all, the blue light hadn't exactly looked like _lightning_, really, but something with _flesh_, something using the electricity as armor or maybe, just maybe, the electricity had been the creature itself, soaring through the portal. It wouldn't be the oddest thing Cody ever saw.

And the light had definitely come from the digital vortex.

And Cody was pretty sure the digital vortex came from the World of Darkness— from the Dark Ocean. The Dark Area.

Cody's fingers found the sheathed Dynasty Blade at his side. The scabbard bobbed against his hip, but he didn't quite unsheathe his grandfather's sword. That would come later, when they knew what they were dealing with. Then he could show the world what his grandfather showed him, the teachings of his mentor, his sensei. People said Cody's father had been even more skilled at the blade than his grandfather, that Mr. Hida had managed to beat Grandpa Chikara at the age of seventeen.

Cody would be the best, just to make the spirits of his father and grandfather proud.

"What should we do, Cody?" said Armadillomon with that southern twang.

Cody looked down at him, then toward the light. He knew he should have used his D3 to message the others, or to head toward Davis's. But another part of Cody wondered if the light beckoned his grandfather's murderer.

Six months ago, the resurrected MetalSeadramon had taken Cody's grandfather from him. And now Cody swore to take MetalSeadramon from the world.

Rage. Justice. Retribution. These were the emotions that pulsed through Cody's veins, squeezed his heart, railed against his ribs. He was Cody Hida, and he would not let villains go unpunished. It was unpunished villains who killed people like Cody's father, good people just trying to protect others. His father died on duty, just like his grandfather.

No more.

"Let's go toward the light," Cody told Armadillomon, even though all logic told him not to. "I'm sure a few others will head toward there first, too."

He was doing something he wouldn't normally do. Because he was sick of going by the book when other people got hurt.

(-101201-)

Izzy's specialty had always lied in numbers.

A chessboard had squares on an eight-by-eight surface, that meant 64 squares. Playing pieces lined two rows, so therefore there were 16 playing pieces in total for each opponent.

Eight pawns.

Two bishops.

Two knights.

Two rooks.

One queen.

One king.

However, Izzy swiftly realized that numbers meant nothing when playing against Gennai. Gennai taught him many things in the past six months, things from Yggdrasil to Huanglongmon to other parallel universes to the miraculous World of Light, but one of the things he had not taught Izzy was chess. In fact, it was Ken who taught him this. Izzy was a quick study. It wasn't long before the student had become the master, and in light of his talent, he was challenged by Gennai.

They were tied now. Gennai was at five wins. Izzy was at five wins. This game was the one to finally decide the true victor (at least until next time, Izzy inwardly mused), and he did not like how it was going. Gennai was two moves away from proclaiming check while Izzy was, he calculated, at least four moves away from even considering a check. Gennai still had his queen, while Izzy's queen was taken two moves ago. The only thing the computer genius had in his arsenal was a bishop, a knight, his king, and a pawn.

In fact, Gennai was so prepared that he had his king, his queen, three pawns, both bishops, and both knights. Practically every single one!

"Don't rely too heavily on numbers, Izzy," Gennai told him softly, eyes narrowed in concentration as he watched Izzy's next move. "I taught you eight teamwork, but I also taught you the power of individuality, as well. One piece is all it takes to destroy the king. The piece that claims the checkmate can be the queen herself, the most powerful piece on the board, or it could be a pawn. Even the King, the prey, the victim, can claim his opponent and conquer all. All it matters is strategy."

Izzy's gaze flickered to Gennai's eyes, glazed over as he moved a pawn toward Izzy's last remaining knight. He was trapped now. Izzy had to choose between his bishop and his knight, though he supposed he was screwed no matter what. In the end, just as his hand moved forward to confirm one of the piece's final moments, Gennai popped out of his seat with a startled shock.

"Oh my!" the old-but-young man exclaimed. "I'm late for meeting Kari! We have a lesson today! Good Lordmon, is that really the time? Sorry, Izzy, but I gotta go!"

Before Izzy could utter a single word, Gennai dashed out of the room, leaving their game untouched, ready for the next time. Izzy couldn't complain— things were going terribly, though he supposed there was still a chance.

Things felt off today. He'd gotten equations wrong several times. People asked him if he was feeling alright, and even though every single time he told them he was fine, he always answered it with a twitch... which led to more questioning. He tried to calm himself down by playing Solitaire, but he gave up trying to win after 10 losses. By noon, his mind was back on Gennai earlier that morning.

Gennai must have felt off today, as well. Since when did he ever forget about a session with anyone, much less Kari, whose concentration was integral to their survival?

His thought process was interrupted by a fierce flash of light. At first, it was a black light. He considered the plausibility of this before a blue light struck next, right at the core of Odaiba. He blinked, brow furrowed; a loud crack sundered the sky above him, followed by the monstrous roar of a DigiPort ripping apart the heavens.

Five.

Five days.

Five days early.

They were five days early.

"Izzy!" called Tentomon, pointing toward the Kamiya residence. There was a massive shadow manifesting in front of the window, tendrils made of smoke reaching out for the double-pane glass. Izzy frowned.

It was time.

Just then, Ken and Wormmon burst into the room, panting, sweat dripping down their brows. Ken was meant to teach Izzy more martial arts today, but it looked like school was canceled.

"I'll get Davis!" Ken called after a few seconds of conversation. "You help Kari and Gatomon!"

Izzy nodded and grabbed Tentomon. "We'll head to Sora and Matt's after!"

(-1010221-)

Joe was in bundles of awkward anger. He wasn't exactly sure why, nor did he exactly understand why, but all he was sure of was that he'd found Mimi long-asleep between his two oldest brothers Shuu and Shin. They'd fallen asleep in _his_ bed, too. By the time he'd waltzed into the room, however, Mimi bolted awake, sitting up instantaneously with Joe's arrival, and managed to knock both boys off the bed with her gusto.

"Joe!" she shouted, reddening. "What happened? Owwwwww..." She grimaced and grabbed her temples.

Joe was not impressed.

"What—_happened—?_"

"The punch was too tasty to be true..." Mimi whined.

"Mimi—" Joe said under his breath in frustration. He then sighed and tore his glasses from his face, wiping the lens nervously with his undershirt. He always did that when he was a wreck, which was more often than he would've liked to admit.

Mimi smiled warmly at him from her spot and moved forward, her head bobbing to the right before she used the side of her index finger to bring his chin up.

"Pish-posh, Joe," Mimi grumbled. "Don't be such a nervous wreck. I'd never sleep with Shin."

"Hah!" Shuu jolted up and flexed. "I knew I'm irresistible."

"Would you all just shut the hell up?" Shin moaned from the other side of the floor, his hand waving into view as his fingers dug trenches into the bed above him. They all blinked in his direction, much to his chagrin as he hobbled to a stand. He gripped his aching head and growled under his breath. "God, like I would ever touch Miss Twiggy. Wait—Joe—did I—?"

Suddenly, both Shin and Mimi paled with the realization that they had no memory of the night before. It was a blank X, and Joe, who'd fallen asleep early on during Tai's welcome back party due to extreme exhaustion from late nights at the hospital, was not one to distinguish whether or not his siblings "did it" with their house guest.

Mimi flailed. "Holy CRAP neverrrrr! Not even if I was DRUNK! ...Which I was. So there. IT DID NOT HAPPEN. ...Does not _compute. _And apparently I've turned into Izzy. OH GOD I'M IZZY NOW. WHAT ABOUT MY SOCIAL LIIIIFE?"

Mimi sobbed. Joe felt his frustration rise and his patience thin. His glasses were doubly clean, but he twitched and only began cleaning them a third time.

Shin was in a shock-coma, skin placid, mouth wide open. Mimi was still stomping her feet almost in a childlike fashion, complete with howling defiance and lack of restraint. However, mid-way through one of her endless rants, they all stopped as they heard Joe snap.

"Who was it this time?" he said firmly, placing his glasses back on his face. However, even without asking, he'd already realized who was to blame. Shin wouldn't, but both Shuu and Mimi were infamous for late-night partying, and Shuu himself was notorious at his college for holding massive keggers. Joe arched an eyebrow. "_Who spiked the punch?_"

And, surely enough, dear Shuu raised his hand. A low chuckle filled the room and the three turned to him (Joe automatically, feeling as if he knew exactly where this was going). After realizing that no one was laughing with him, Shuu awkwardly snorted and waved his hand dismissively.

"We had extra brandy, so I figured 'Why the hell not?' and, I admit it, I did it, okay!" He waved his arms as if to emphasize his point. "Besides little bro, chill out, at least Shin's still a virgin after last night!" Shin choked on his spit. "Wellllll, I found Mimi dancing on tabletops and decided to guide her in here to sleep the alcohol off before she slipped and hurt herself."

Mimi opened her mouth to respond, but her voice got caught and she instead turned bright red... which led into furious giggles.

Joe was not amused. "...And what were you two doing in the same bed?"

"Gee bro, can your eyebrow arch any higher?" When Joe answered with cold silence – and a further-raised eyebrow – Shuu giggled. "I dunno, it looked comfy. Wasn't getting fresh or anything, I swear. No freakin' clue what Shin was doing there though, but I certainly know I didn't... _hear_ anything... or, you know... get woken up by _certain movements_..."

"So what were you doing there, Shin?"

"Yeah, Shin?" Mimi echoed with a glare.

Shin glared back. "Like I would touch you." He paused. "Does it matter why I was there? I don't remember. Is this really what we should worry about right now?"

Silence. Then Shuu smiled innocently and said, "Okay, now that we have all that figured out, I'mgointothacaféseeya!"

Before any of them could speak, even before Gomamon could snicker into his paw, Shuu dashed out of the room and left them all very pissed, very confused, and very –well, frustrated.

It was Mimi who first threw her arms up and shouted, "OKAY... screw this nonsense, I'm gonna check up on Willis and Michael to make sure USA's set!"

"Y—yes. Yes, yes, I've got—things to do, too—" Joe sighed, shaking his head and clumsily shuffling around for a broom.

"Hey, wait a minute," Mimi said, whirling around. Joe blinked at her. "It's none of your Goddamn business who I sleep with! Why are you getting so frustrated? Just because YOU have the sex drive of a 200-year-old block of _snot _doesn't mean _I _do—"

"I'm not frustrated," Joe said, twitching. "I don't have any business, I just thought it would be... awkward... if my brothers... well. Mimi—"

"I can sleep with whoever I want! And if you're going to parent my sexuality then I'm going to go live with Yolei instead!"

"What, so you can sleep with her, too?" Shin muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"I haven't slept with anyone!" she screeched at him. "_Welll..._ no one in _this_ room, anyway. And even if I did decide to sleep with Yolei, that is nooonnne of your business, buster! She's a sexy, strong, smart, independent woman just like me! ...A sexy, strong, smart, independent, _underage _woman, in which case you will forget that I just said that. FORGET."

Joe held up his hands in defense. "You're right, I was out of line. I'm sorry, Tachikawa. I didn't mean it in a judgmental way. I'm studying to be a doctor, I don't view _that_ as... um... anyway, I'm just— I— uh—"

The way his cheeks turned cherry red made Mimi's frustration melt away. She sighed and tilted her head to the side. "Okay, I'll take it that it wasn't out of sexism or the need to parent. But that means it was personal, which... uhh...?"

"God, you two are clueless," Shin snapped, stomping out of the room. "Joe, I swear to God, if you get together with that stupid bimbo, I will disown you!"

Joe frowned, but neither he or Mimi were able to respond before the entire house violently shook. The door of Joe's bedroom nearly crashed off its hinges. Pictures and books plunged from their places and loudly hit the ground. The only relief was when one of those books smacked Shin in the face, making him tumble forward. Joe stumbled, but Mimi caught him by the elbow and jerked him back up.

When he turned to look at her face, he found that she was looking out the window with a crease in her brow.

"It's them," she said, still clasping his arm. "They're here."

Joe, too, peered out of the window. But it wasn't Mimi who saw the large bug-type digimon flying in the direction of Matt and Sora's flat. He pointed it out to Mimi, whose expression didn't falter in the least. "Kabuterimon," she said, wrapping her fingers between his. "Let's get Palmon and Gomamon and meet them."

Joe nodded. Within seconds, they were off, leaving a grumbling, ranting, pissed-off Shin behind.

(-010201-)

"I love Haruhiko."

This was the only thing Ms. Takenouchi managed to say before the thunder rattled the entire flat. She tripped, catching her balance on a wall before she tottered off with the second aftershock. She looked up at her daughter, who hadn't flinched, even at the noise. The two Takenouchi women were staring deep into each other's eyes.

Matt was holding Tai back. The old goggle boy was screaming something neither Sora nor her mother were listening to, something about having to get to Davis's place. Sora knew she should have listened, that listening would have been prudent, that if she didn't listen it could mean putting a lot of people in needless danger— but she couldn't leave her mother, not now just when she was about to discover the identity of her true father.

It happened swiftly. Tai came over to announce his departure for a new apartment closer to Tokyo. Matt and Sora were planning to head toward Russia and Mexico to help them prepare for the oncoming war. Neither of the Destined knew much about the enemy, but they knew it was coming, and considering what damage was done six months ago, they also knew there was no time to play around. Matt himself nearly lost his brother to Devimon, though somehow Devimon was now their ally? It was confusing, Sora decided.

She also knew that three months ago, in the midst of preparing for the war, she discovered her mother's unsent love letters to a man called "B". And this man was undoubtedly Sora's true father, a man sent from the heavens, a man who disappeared into those heavens when Ms. Takenouchi's life was put in danger. After B disappeared, Ms. Takenouchi went on. Married Haruhiko, a busy researcher who wasn't home much but loved his family nevertheless.

Sora had wondered why her father was absent for such long periods of time. Sure, he was a renown researcher. But that didn't mean he had to constantly leave his family, barely seeing them a couple of times a year.

And now, here they were. Her mother and her, having a stare-down. Because Haruhiko was _not_ Sora's father, and though he and Ms. Takenouchi were high school sweethearts, he was not the love of her life, and there was something else. Something huge.

Something digital, running through Sora's veins.

"Was he a digimon?" Sora asked through gritting teeth.

"We don't have _time_," Tai howled. "Later, Sora!"

"There might not be a later!" Sora snapped at him, then turned instantly back to her mother. "_Mom,_ was he a digimon?"

"I'll get her," Matt told Tai. His eyes traveled from Tai to Sora, then Gabumon and Agumon, then back to Tai. He was thinking about his friends. About how he'd left things with the band earlier that day, telling them he wasn't sure he could continue being a part of the Teenage Wolves. About how he felt like he'd let them down. Would he let Tai down, too? Would he let Sora down? "You go ahead. We won't be long. Go to the meeting place, tell the others we'll be there soon."

Tai stared him in the eye for a while, then reluctantly nodded. He glanced toward Sora, then back to Matt. "Take good care of her."

"She doesn't need me to," Matt said with a small smile. He then clasped Tai's hand in his and nodded. "But I'll do what I can."

Tai smiled back at him. Without another word, though a couple of lingering glances, he turned from the two – his two best friends, his right-hand and his left – and rushed into the monstrous fray outside, Agumon bolted to his side. Once they disappeared over the corner, Matt finally turned back to the two Takenouchi women, determined to split their fight up. But how could he do that?

Sora knew his intentions. She sent him a glare that made him fumble, then brought that glare back to her mother. "Answer me," Sora pressed. "What was he?"

"I don't know," Ms. Takenouchi whispered. Under Sora's glare, the older woman crumpled, sniffling into her hand. She squeezed her eyes shut and sunk to her knees. The DigiPort outside roared. "I don't know who he was, what he was— all I knew was that I loved him."

"You didn't even _know him_," Sora spat, but after a few seconds, seeing her mother react so sadly, she softened. With a small sigh, she took a couple of steps forward and crouched in front of her mother. "You had to know who he was, even a tiny portion."

"He wasn't of this world," she replied. "But I didn't know how, or even what he was. He could have been a digimon, maybe, but... he could have also been... been like you..."

"Like me...?" Then it hit her. Of course, why didn't she think of it before? Sora hesitated, then said, "You think he was a Destined. Which means..."

There were only five Destined before Sora's time. Five she never met, never even knew the names of. Sometimes she would wonder where they were, how they got there. Why it wasn't those five Destined who inherited partners to stop Devimon. So many times at the crack of dawn, camping in those woods and hiking through those deserts, side-by-side with Biyomon, just a young girl— so many times Sora wondered where those Destined were, and why they weren't helping the other Twelve Chosen fight the evils.

Were they still traveling Earth? What would happen to them to make them never return to the Digital World? Though centuries had passed in the Digital World, maybe even millennia, in human years the Digital World couldn't have existed for more than around 50 years, when computers were first being developed. Unless the first Destined were summoned to the Digital World in their thirties, which was unlikely, it wasn't implausible that the first Destined would still be alive.

So when the Digital World filtered the true sky eight years ago due to the Dark Masters, had they suddenly remembered their pasts, their lives as Destined, and still done nothing? Or when, five years ago, all twelve Japanese Destined toured the entire Earth looking for other Destined, why didn't they speak up and make themselves known? Gennai mentioned they'd defeated some great evil during their time and saved the entire Digital World, even if the peace from that occurrence was short-lived... why hadn't the first five used that power to help the newer generations combat the newer evils, like Sora's generation had guided Yolei's?

Or were they dead? Could they die?

Or maybe they were just assholes. Or jaded and broken. Or cowards. Or maybe some combination of them all.

Or maybe they had lost their partners, maybe their power had been torn from them, like Biyomon had been torn from Sora for three years. How agonizing those three years had been. Maybe the first Destined never got their partners back.

All she had were these guesses.

"I wish..." Ms. Takenouchi bit her bottom lip in thought. After pondering it for a moment, she felt the courage to go on and said, "I wish I'd done things differently with Haruhiko. It wasn't that I didn't love him, because I did. I do. I was just so _young_, so impressionable. It was so easy to fall in love and think that bond was unbreakable. Was the end-all-be-all."

At this, Ms. Takenouchi stared pointedly at Matt and Sora, which caused Matt and Sora to look at each other. Sora frowned and turned back to her mother. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I thought I loved Haruhiko more than anyone else," she replied, "But then I met B. And when I met B, I thought I would never be able to love another man as I'd loved him. That turned out to be true. I love Haruhiko, but he deserves a woman who's not just settling for him."

"You have him waiting in the wings, at your beck 'n' call," Sora said with frown. "Mother, I would never do that. But that's me—" At this, Matt coughed, and Sora had to half-heartedly glare at him. "I don't have any men waiting in the wings."

"I..." Ms. Takenouchi hesitated. "He didn't seem like... I don't think he was... I... I mean, maybe he was, but..."

"But what?" Sora could feel a twist in her gut. "What else could he be if he's not a digimon? He must have looked like a man, but he wasn't from Earth. Or maybe he had been, but it wasn't likely. What else could he be? There are just digimon and Dest..." Gennai. And then there were Gennai, and the people like Gennai. But Gennai couldn't have been her father. "It's not Gennai, is it?" Sora asked, frail at first, then stronger. "Is _he..._?"

"No," Ms. Takenouchi confirmed. In all the commotion the last six months, the two had briefly met at a meeting between the Destined. They'd decided to have it at Matt and Sora's flat when Ms. Takenouchi randomly popped in. It was one of the few conferences she'd ever had the privilege of listening to, though there was not much she could contribute. Most of it was about things she couldn't really understand. The most of what she got from it was that her daughter was in danger. "Goodness, no. It's not Gennai."

"Could it have been someone like him?"

"Someone like him? You mean Gennai's not human?"

"No!" Sora sighed, rubbing her temples. "He's not... not a _digimon, _either. We don't know what he is. Sometimes he's old, sometimes he's young. Sometimes he knows everything, sometimes he knows nothing. He lives beneath the lake's surface but he can't breathe underwater. He can use mechanical digimon to fly but he prefers the underground.

"He's ancient but he looks like a boy." Sora frowned. "No one knows how he came into being, no one knows why he can't die. He's the only one of his kind left. He's alone."

All alone.

If Sora's father was a part of Gennai's race, then would Gennai know him? And her father fled because people were after him, wanting to kill him. The Dark Masters had tried to annihilate all of Gennai's species, and would have succeeded if Gennai hadn't gotten away. Could her father have escaped and found sanctum in her mother's arms? And when he fled even the comfort of that home, was he able to find safety? Or had the Dark Masters killed him, too?

Gennai would know who her father was. He would tell her if it was one of his kind. Because if that was true, then Sora was a part of Gennai's race, at least a half, and that was one-half more than Gennai would have now. That was one-half less alone Gennai would be. Because then, Sora would be a part of a race that was no longer in existence, all but Gennai himself.

Gennai... Was that Sora's race? Would she grow old one day, just to snap back to youth? Would she one day be the guide to a whole new set of Chosen Children, fated to save the Digital World and Earth time and time again? Would it be her role to speak in riddles and solve the puzzles left in evil's wake? Would her responsibility be to pop up during the least expected times, and disappear when she was most needed?

The thought scared her.

But there was something else deep inside her, as well. Something that made shivers crawl up her arms. Something that bolstered the goosebumps. Something that sent jolts down her legs and made her knees wobble.

Something that excited her.

Maybe Gennai was not alone anymore. Maybe that was why he barely lamented about what happened. She'd never seen him cry or look sad. Maybe that was because he knew he at least had Sora. That maybe he wasn't completely by himself.

"Sora," Matt warned, looking out the window. Clouds were circling above the apartment building. A flash of blue lightning catapulted from the cumulus. He whirled on the spot, reaching out to grab her by the hand. She heard herself call his name, but she never got past the first step. "Duck!" he shouted.

Sora crashed against her mother, knocking them both to the ground. They landed with a hard thump just in time. Seconds later, four figures crashed through the window: the large and abrasive Kabuterimon, whose electricity crackled around him, and, on his back, Izzy and Gatomon. Then the fourth figure – who had at some point latched onto Kabuterimon's back – was an unfamiliar woman.

Sora shielded herself and her mother from a spray of glass and gravel. She heard Biyomon screech her name, and a second later, the bird digimon was on top of them both, barricading them from the debris. Sora looked up just in time to see Gabumon do the same for Matt. Sora winced as a shard of glass lodged itself into her bicep, but with a low growl, she yanked it out and ripped off a piece of the nearby blanket on the couch to make a tourniquet. Luckily it hadn't cut too deep, just enough to sting and bleed. _Great_.

"Sora," her mother said worriedly, reaching for the wound.

Sora smiled sadly at her. "I'll be fine, you stay here." She then looked at Biyomon, who nodded. "You ready?"

"I was hatched ready!"

The whir of Sora's digivice filled the flat as Biyomon digivoled into Birdramon. Seconds later, Birdramon and Sora were looking upon a digivolved Garurumon, and both heinous digimon were helping Kabuterimon to his feet.

"I have to find Kari," Gatomon was saying frantically, searching the house for the partner. "Kari, is that you?" she asked the unfamiliar figure.

Neither Sora or Matt were sure when it was exactly that the woman latched onto Kabuterimon. By the time Matt looked out the window, the woman was already there. If even Gatomon didn't know, where had she come from? She appeared after the bright flash of light.

Her face was covered by a veil of mercury-red hair. She was naked, her fingernails digging into the honey-colored carpet. Scrapes and cuts oozed blood on her bare shoulder blades and legs, though the woman didn't seem to be in pain. She just looked tired, panting, shaking at first as she recovered her bearings.

Gatomon halted. "You smell like Kari," she said, curling her nose, "But you're not her. You're not anything like Kari." 

"No," the woman said. A small, near-silent titter crackled in her throat. "I am everything Kari is, and everything Kari is not."

Her neck snapped as she peered up at the feline digimon. Sora was taken aback by the deep purple hue of her eyes. She'd never quite seen eyes like those. They gave off a sinister glint.

The woman's gaze quickly traveled from the feline to Izzy and Kabuterimon, then Matt and Sora, then Ms. Takenouchi, Birdramon, and Garurumon, then back to Gatomon. Cracking a wide smile, still flopped over on the floor with her back facing the ceiling, the woman raised a hand to Gatomon's face

and sent a beam of shrieking purple energy right between the digimon's eyes.

(-'**0102010**'-)

**Chapter 4 Preview:** _Why is this woman after my partner? Who is she? Why is she so strong? And most importantly... is Wizardmon still watching over me after all?_

Chaos. Mayhem. The Destined receive an ominous warning that things are going to change around here, and there's nothing they can do about it.


	4. I&IV: The Inevitable

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. A few lines of dubbed dialogue were used from Episode 17 ("Ghost of a Chance") of Digimon Adventure 02. Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "They Came In" by Butthole Surfers

(-'010102000'-)

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session IV**

... The Inevitable ...

Gatomon's back smashed against the wall.

"Gatomon!" cried Birdramon, motioning to help her, only to be crushed by a wave of supersonic waves that sent her barreling back through several walls. Screams filtered the halls of the flats.

"No fighting!" one of them screeched. "Digimon aren't allowed to fight in here!"

But no one was listening. Most of the residents – or at least the sensible ones – rushed out of the apartment building quick enough to flatten a rookie digimon. Stampedes of people – not just from Sora and Matt's flat – funneled through the streets.

Birdramon winced, but didn't allow the attack to thwart her. "You okay, Gatomon?" Only silence answered her. "Gatomon?" she repeated.

When there was still no answer, she peered up to see the unfamiliar woman holding Gatomon up by the face, her feet dangling in the air.

"This is exquisite!" the woman said with a bark of laughter. "My Atanasoff, I didn't think he could actually do it! Papa is such a genius, oh yes he is!"

Papa?

"He has no name," the woman said, craning her neck to look at Birdramon. Could she hear Birdramon's thoughts? No, that was impossible. Could it be? The woman smiled. "He is my master, my creator. He is the lord of shadows, the Soul-Sucker. Some call him Jackal, some call him Father, some call him Destroyer.

"But he is simply my master, and soon he will be yours, too.

"Now pucker up, kitty, my master wants ya!"

"Geddophfeh," muttered Gatomon in a muffled voice.

"What was that?" the woman said, leaning her ear toward Gatomon's face. "I'm sorry, I was too busy suffocating you."

"I said..." Gatomon hissed, a paw reaching up to grip the woman's wrist. "...Light..." Her claws broke skin. "...ning..." Her fangs clenched together. "PAW!"

A spark of light careened against the unfamiliar figure's face. She immediately bolted back, tossing Gatomon into a charging-up Kabuterimon, knocking them both aside. With a grunt, she plowed through another wall and grabbed her bleeding shoulder where Gatomon struck her.

She wasn't smiling anymore. "This body's new. I don't think Master will be pleased if it gets ruined."

"Well, I don't give a flying frick what pleases your master," Gatomon bellowed, rushing to the door. "I gotta find Kari!"

"Well, well," the woman said, finally breaking out a smile again. "Don't we all?"

Reaching out to Gatomon, the digimon came to a skidding halt. Her paw grazed the knob, but she didn't clasp it. It wasn't as though the woman had some great power over her. In all actuality, that had nothing to do with it. It was the thought that this woman was looking for Kari. The thought that this woman not only smelled like Kari, but _felt_ like Kari. Gatomon could sense Kari oozing from the woman. If it weren't for the woman's looks, her demeanor, Gatomon would have expected the woman to be identical to Kari in every single way.

And this unfamiliar woman was looking for Kari, sent from the heavens.

"I don't have a name yet," the woman said with a frown. "But at one time, I liked martinis. And everyday for a week, I had Spam for dinner. These are a few details I remember of a time when I had a name. When I had two. So maybe that should be my name. What do you think? Martini Spam. Yes. That is what I will call myself!" She threw her head back in a manic cackle.

Sora gave a glance toward Matt, who shook his head. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Gatomon hesitated for a moment, unsure how to respond, then she, too, laughed, shaking her head. "You can't be serious."

"Welllll..." the woman immediately stopped laughing. "I suppose _Mara_ for short will do. Yes. You can call me Mara. Because I'm amazing like that. And I have to make you take me at least a _little _bit seriously."

Then her outstretched hand crackled, split; a dark orb made of light bubbled from her palm and encased her hand. Seconds later, the light traveled up her arm and armored her body, filtering like a mask over her face. The last thing Gatomon saw of her was a bright grin.

Then the woman's body began boiling. Her skin flashed bright. Boils the size of tangerines bulged from her arms and legs and chest and face. She screamed, laughing, as tears ran rivers down her cheeks. Her gleaming scarlet coils of hair flared into a fierce fire that enveloped her entire head.

"THE HUMANS MUST DIE LIKE CATTLE TO THE SLAUGHTER..." she said, bursting into flame. "...THE DEMON LORDS MUST RISE AGAIN..." And the flame burst into blue, then into white. "...AND THE COUNCIL MUST FALL..." And then she exploded. "THE SAD GHOST GODS WILL HAVE THEIR VENGEANCE."

As the blast of energy struck Gatomon, a flash of dazzling light infiltrated her vision. A face manifested in her mind, surrounded by the light. She didn't recognize it, just that it had glowing yellow eyes and a smile that was hidden by the shadows cast from his hood. Orbs of red and yellow energy buzzed by his head, core ringed by blue glowing threads. He stood above a massive book that encased his feet like a pedestal.

As Gatomon fell through the white light, she felt him smiling at her, even though she couldn't see it.

A scene played through her mind. She hadn't thought about the moment in years, but she knew the exact time it came from. It was five years ago, during the Digimon Emperor's reign.

"_Will we ever see him again?" _

The ghost of Wizardmon had warned them of the coming evil. He had said it was not Ken who was the true enemy, but the darkness inside of him. That in order to stop him, they would need to unravel the evil. The _true_ evil, what had _made_ him evil, what had manipulated him into becoming the thing who killed and harmed so many digimon in such ways they could never quite heal from.

"_I'm sure we will, Kari," _Tai had answered his sister's question.

But Gatomon wasn't really listening. Instead, she was staring out the window where Wizardmon had faded into thin air, now gone. She had hoped Tai was right, that it wouldn't be the last time she saw her old friend. Yet in the past five years, though she visited that spot at least once a month, she had not seen him, not once. Not even a murmur. In that moment five years ago, she managed to say a single thing. _"That Wizardmon... What a friend. Even from beyond, he's still watching over me."_

She couldn't touch him then. And she couldn't touch him now.

"I may have failed to protect you from them, but it's not over," the figure in the white light told her, his yellow eyes glowing, his hand reaching out as Wizardmon's had so many years ago. Gatomon, too, reached out for him, but the distance was too great between them. "It's never over. Don't stop fighting. You can save her, Gatomon... You can save yourself. I've done all that I can."

"Wizardmon," Gatomon whispered, tears stinging her eyes. He might have had a different body, perhaps even a different mind. He could not appear on Earth where he died, and maybe it was even impossible for him to manifest in the Digital World, since he died in the human world. But on another plain of existence, in another world, perhaps the world he truly belonged to, he was alive. And not even the boundaries between realms could keep him from her.

Across the stars and across the universes and across the very bounds of realms and dreams and nightmares and reality and data and light and darkness, the bounds of life and death themselves, Wizardmon was still watching over Gatomon.

"Don't go," she pleaded.

But before he could respond, the white light faded with a punch, and Gatomon was back in reality. She didn't know what caused the white light to envelop her. Maybe it had something to do with the unfamiliar woman's attack, or maybe it was simply Wizardmon calling out to her at the moment when her mind was weakest. All she knew was that a moment later, she was shrugging off bits of debris and concrete from the explosion, peering up at the woman's grinning face.

No flame. No blisters. The woman – _Mara_ – looked completely repaired. She was even clothed in shawls of purple and black.

"Now, tell me," she said, leaning over the damaged digital feline. Gatomon winced, trying to stand, but her muscles wouldn't cooperate. The woman smelled so strongly like Kari, yet Gatomon wanted to attack her. But how could she really, truly attack someone whose scent resembled her partner's? Mara's smile widened. "Tell me... Where is Cody Hida?"

Cody?

Gatomon never responded in time. The next second, the woman was blown through several walls by a massive duo-combo attack of needles and missiles.

"Togemon! Ikkakumon!" Gatomon called, looking in the direction of the door where the two creatures had ripped it open.

"Mimi!" Sora cried, helping her wounded mother to her feet, looking at the near-sobbing girl.

"Soraaaaa!" Mimi sniffled, jumping off Ikkakumon's shoulder. "You look hurt!"

"Joe," Izzy muttered, standing with a wince. "Where is everyone?"

"We're not sure," Joe said, shifting his glasses. He glanced in the direction Mara plowed through, then back to Izzy. "But I have a good idea."

"Let's go," Izzy said tiredly. "Before she gets back here..."

"Too late," came a voice behind them. Both young men jumped and twisted around, but it was too late. Mara had surfaced from the mist of floating white particles. Though Ikkakumon must have been ten times her size, she managed to lift him off his feet and chuck him directly into Togemon, who fell through the window and down, down, down to the ground outside. Mimi and Joe shouted their partners' names.

Mara screamed something unintelligible and burst into flame again.

(-1010201-)

Yolei had been having one hell of a hangover when the thunder awoke her. At first, she thought it was simply a storm and rolled over, giving a light groan. She considered puking, but was able to snuff the urge. Then she thought about drinking a little water and maybe eating a slice of bread, but that would mean getting off the couch and walking to the kitchen. Well, stumbling to the kitchen anyway, maybe knocking a few things over on the way, perhaps stubbing a toe or two, and don't forget running into the wall a couple of times, much to her partner's half-amusement half-concern. And if her parents or siblings were around, she'd never hear the end of it.

In the end, Yolei opted to simply fall back asleep and ignore the storm.

But that was before Hawkmon walloped her over the head.

"OUCH. What the hell?" she barked, bolting upright. "You have no respect for boozies!"

Hawkmon didn't indulge her. Instead, she found him staring up at the window. "It's time to wake up," Hawkmon told her. He then turned around and dumped a cup full of ice water on her head. Yolei shrieked, shocked, and motioned to strangle him. "They're here."

If there was ever a more sobering two words, Yolei did not know them. Well, maybe "he's dead" or "don't love" or "I'm late" or ... She shook her head. God, why was she thinking about that when there was a world-consuming, stirring cauldron of dark digital energy unfurling in the clouds? An agonizing pang struck her stomach and Yolei really did keel over, emptying the contents of her stomach. Of all the days for the Endless Ones to arrive, why did it have to be on a day she was still smashed from the night before?

Hawkmon followed her track of mind and listened silently to her 5-minute rant before speaking up. "We should get going. We don't know how much time we have before..."

Before the end of the world?

Already it was chaos outside. People screaming and running through the streets, carrying bags of food and wrapped-up babies (_wait, people actually do that? _Yolei thought with a raised eyebrow) and digimon buckling to their knees, holding their hands to the sky. Some were sobbing. Some weren't. Most of them were simply trying to evacuate to a safer location. Sirens sounded off in the distance; Yolei was sure an army was assembling to combat the creatures.

Little few could forget that day six months before, when the legions of Dark Area digimon descended from the skies and decimated large amounts of Earth's population. It was a miracle the world was able to stabilize itself half as well and half as quickly as it did, but how could it handle another attack of that sort?

_But we've had six months to prepare_, she thought, looking toward Hawkmon, who looked back at her. _We'll do all that we can._

But then a thought occurred to her.

Sure, they had six months to prepare for the enemy's attack. But then again... the enemy had six months to prepare for _theirs_, and they seemed to know their opponents a whole lot better than the Destined knew theirs.

She felt Hawkmon's wing gently clasp her hand. She looked down to see his smiling face. "I'll protect you," he said.

She smiled back at him. "And now I have the power to protect you, too."

That was when a bright flash of blue light struck severely close to their quarters. She jumped, thinking it might have struck her house, when instead she saw a smoking crater outside her bedroom window. Wow, how did that get there? Hawkmon must have had a similar thought process because the next thing she knew, he was pointing up at the sky, where they saw Davis and Ken flying in the arms of ExVeemon and Stingmon.

"That's convenient," Hawkmon muttered.

"Let's go," she told Hawkmon. He swiftly digivolved into Halsemon and, with his beak, tossed her on his back. Bucking, he took off into the sky, soaring, gliding. Neither of them had any time to really notice what was in the center of the smoking crater, of the _man _in the core of the smoke and blistering cracks, of the mysteries that man held and the influence he would bestow. Of his bloody past of mayhem and slaughter and genocide and control.

All she knew was that Davis looked very concerned as he glanced down at the coughing man.

Yolei, too, followed his gaze, and Halsemon right after her.

They knew it before Davis did.

He was going to attack, no hesitation, no second thoughts.

"Halsemon—" was all Yolei managed to get out before a beam of bright green light burst from the man's palm, headed directly for Davis and ExVeemon. Though neither Yolei or Halsemon confirmed it, they both knew it without any questions asked:

Yolei and her partner leaped in front of the beam, protecting Davis and his partner from a blast that would have most certainly killed them both.

As the beam smashed through Halsemon's lungs, as blood splattered Yolei's face, as she twisted around on Halsemon's back and plummeted to the ground, she saw his face. Staring at her. Pale and sad.

Ken was crying her name, but his voice fell on deaf ears.

(-1020101-)

"Halsemon?" Davis stuttered, eyes widening. He paled and looked around for where the digimon came from, and saw Yolei descending quickly through the air, her hand reaching out for a Halsemon that screeched at the sky. He was bleeding. Yolei was falling.

Halsemon took a hit for him and ExVeemon. And now Yolei was falling to her death, and Halsemon's data was wavering, his beak tipped to the clouds, crying out Yolei's name... but he couldn't save her, he was quickly fainting.

Davis did not even have time to question where the two came from. All he knew was that if he didn't move, Yolei and Halsemon would die. And neither of them even knew who the strange man was.

Ken and Stingmon reacted first. They whipped through the air, catching Yolei slowly enough so that, as they approached the ground, the sudden stop wouldn't liquefy her internal organs. Davis and ExVeemon supposed that meant it was their responsibility to catch Halsemon, which proved difficult to do without injuring him any more than he was already. As they nabbed him, he hissed in pain, grimacing.

"Hold on, it'll be okay," Davis whispered, coming to a halt on the ground as he cradled Halsemon's head in his lap. ExVeemon set them down carefully.

"Halsemon!" Yolei screamed, struggling to get out of Ken's arms.

"Yolei?" Halsemon's eyes rolled up. He was fading. But he couldn't die— not yet. There was still so much to do.

Yolei skidded to a stop beside Davis and Halsemon. A gentle white glow eclipsed Halsemon and, when the light faded, he had de-digivolved back into Hawkmon. She softly took him away from Davis and held him tightly to her chest, resting her temple against his. "Hawkmon...? Are you going to be okay...? Please tell me you'll be okay!"

"He won't be," said a voice behind them. All six figures – though Hawkmon much more hazily than the rest – looked toward the man in the crater. "Nothing will ever be okay again. I'm sorry."

And he held up his palm to the six figures. "You're simply delaying the inevitable. But then again," the blond-haired, blue-eyed man said, "What else are Destined good for?"

Then a green light illuminated his face, and exploded in the direction of all six Chosen.

"Nope," said a voice. At first, Davis almost didn't recognize it. _Almost_. "Nope, nope, nope. Not today, I'm afraid."

And a barrage of rapid fire, metal, and heat collided with the green light, deflecting it from the Chosen. Davis looked up with a wide grin at their savior.

Tai Kamiya stood on the head of Greymon, an entire army of champion and ultimate digimon marching behind him.

(-'1010201'-)

The inevitable...

He cleared his throat as he thought about what his comrade had told Davis. It was true. This was inevitable. Too bad it would have to cost them so much to do it, though.

The man walked carelessly through the Kamiya Residence. He didn't know why the parents weren't at home. He nearly had Gatomon, if Kabuterimon and Izzy hadn't randomly shown up to save her. They must have seen the DigiPort he used to arrive; it wasn't quite as flashy as the other two's, but that suited him just fine. They could take on the Chosen for now, distract them. The Destined were not his target.

Gatomon. Kari. Sure, they were big fish. He arrived in this apartment because he knew it would be beneficial to capture them now rather than later. But they were not his objective.

His objective was someone completely different, someone not human or digimon. He'd never personally met the man, but suffice to say, there was much to know about him. He had lived so long and through so many perils, it was hard not to admire the target.

He took off his glasses and shined them, thinking about the target. Would he have to kill the target, or would it be okay if he simply held the target captive? The Endless Ones would probably prefer the target alive. Well, the inferior two would care less – said a lot about them being the inferior ones – and the Wrathful Demon might feel sentimental, but the Dreamless Dreamer would mourn the permanent loss of his target.

"Ahh... milk," he said, going through the Kamiya fridge. Smiling, he pulled out the entire two-percent gallon, slid off the lid, brought it to his lips, and took a couple of large, cold gulps. It glided down his throat easily. How much he'd missed milk. How long had it been since he had milk? Years... so many years... As his eyes went over the contents of the stuffed fridge – it was nearly overstocked (_Oh the fun it would be to have Tai for a son..._) – he frowned.

People took food for granted. But then again, so had he, once upon a time.

"Food!" he exclaimed, picking up a half-eaten sandwich and leftover wet kitty chow (probably Gatomon's). "Hmmmm... experimentation!" he went on, dumping the cat food onto the sandwich. He then grabbed a handful of hardboiled eggs, beef jerky strips, and a cup of yogurt, threw them in a bowl, and sat down at the table with a fork, spoon, and knife. "This is going to taste horrible," he said, eyeing the food. He then smiled. "And I am going to love _every second of it ever._"

Just like it was inevitable he would enjoy every icky bite, it was inevitable that the Destined could no longer delay the apocalypse. They could not defy the true reason they were defined as _Destined._

('**01001210**')

**Next Chapter Preview:** The world is going to hell. The odd man is too strong. Nothing seems to be going right... and Devimon isn't the only old friend back in town.

Next time, things start heating up in "Session V: Cataclysm of Odaiba, Part One"!


	5. I&V: The Cataclysm of Odaiba

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Letting the Cables Sleep" by Bush

(-'010102000'-)

"Sow an act... reap a habit; sow a habit... reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny."

—George Dana Boardman

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session V**

... Part I: The Cataclysm of Odaiba ...

_Heaven and Hell are not enough to keep Wizardmon from me..._

Gatomon was breathing hard, holding Mimi and Joe from jumping out.

"Let go of me!" Mimi hissed at Gatomon. "_Togemon!_"

Mimi and Joe were struggling so hard to get to their partners.

Like Wizardmon was trying to get to her. Still. Through all the pain and devastation, here he was.

_Then I, too, will brave Heaven and Hell to find you,_ Gatomon thought with a furrowed brow. _You've always done so much for me, but what have I done for you? Nothing! I'll find you, Wizardmon. Heaven and Hell will not stop me._

_Just like Mara won't stop me from finding Kari._

Joe was the first to break free. His palms slammed against the window frame as his body struggled to maintain balance. His momentum almost threw him over the ledge, but he caught himself just in time. Peering over the edge, he looked down into the depths of a panicking city and instantly saw their two partners.

Smiling, he turned to Mimi and said, "They're okay! Sore, but it looks like they're trying to get back here. They're okay, Mimi!"

Tears filled Mimi's eyes. Relieved, she went limp in Gatomon's arms. As her head rested against the tiny digimon's shoulder, Gatomon whispered to her, "Mimi, I'm sorry but as soon as Togemon and Ikkakumon are back, I'll have to go. I can't leave Kari alone. I promised her I wouldn't, not after what happened six months ago."

Kari, taken for a second time by the Dark Ocean. Gatomon, near-fatally wounded by a resurrected Myotismon.

Neither of them would let it happen again.

Mimi, who had suffered a ridiculously painful injury herself during the same battle, almost instantly nodded. Her arms wrapped around Gatomon in a protective embrace. "I understand," she said. "We'll distract her. Be careful, Gatomon."

_Kari, just hold on,_ Gatomon thought, embracing Mimi back for just a moment's time. That was all she had before Mimi swung around and lunged straight for Mara's torso, bare-handed and human.

_I'll find you soon..._

And suddenly, it was like Gatomon's first day on Earth: Searching desperately for the Eighth DigiDestined Child, not knowing where her investigation would lead her.

(-'10201020'-)

As the man sought the Target, he decided to take a small detour. Nothing too big, nothing too long. Nothing that would distract him too much. After all, he had time. The Target would be getting ready for the war about now, and wouldn't make his presence known until it was absolutely necessary. That was just the Target's style; wait until he was least expected but most needed. Yes, that was when he could expect the Target— when he _didn't _expect the Target.

So, in an attempt to no longer expect the Target, he swerved off the broken, brittle road and drove his feet up an empty driveway. People were scattered throughout the streets. Screaming. Not because of him, luckily— that would be bad, draw too much attention to himself. Luckily, it had been so many years since people in these parts saw his face, he sincerely doubted anyone would stop to recognize him. Everyone was too busy worrying about themselves and their relatives and their friends and their partners. It was the perfect time for a much unneeded break.

He didn't knock. Fortunately, the front door was unlocked. Still munching on a tuna and M&M sandwich held in one hand, he took a couple of steps inside, scuffed his shoes on the rug, and rubbed them off heels-first. Wearing differently-colored socks on each foot, he stepped onto the wooden platform and continued through the hallway until he reached a family portrait.

There was a family of four very happy people. Two parents, two young boys. A gorgeous, sophisticated family without a doubt. The children looked so little. He felt as though he could have held them in his hands, they were so miniature.

He briefly wondered what the youngest would look like now, all these years later.

That was when Mrs. Ichijouji walked into the hallway, bumped right into him, and scoffed. "Ken, you're late. The sirens are going off. Now, I know you wanted to help, but I don't want to lose—" Seeing that it wasn't her youngest son she bumped into, Mrs. Ichijouji finally looked into his eyes and turned to a very stunned shade of pale. "—No, no," she whispered, reaching up to his face. "I don't understand."

He saw his reflection in her eyes. The way his dark hair flopped over his face. The way he seemed to grow sick the longer she stared at him. It was obvious who he was, who he would have been if things turned out differently. He could have laughed.

"How?" Mrs. Ichijouji touched her hand to her lips, stepping back.

"It's not 'how'," he finally replied, leaning toward her with every step back she took. "It's _why_."

Then he reached forward and ripped the gold necklace off her chest, watching as the chain caught her flesh and dragged her closer.

(-10102021-)

"About time, Tai!" Davis shouted up at him as the older boy arrived. Tai looked down at Davis and couldn't help but grin.

"Sorry," Tai said as unapologetically as he could manage. "Didn't realize you'd miss me so much."

"Oh, I miss you all the time."

The comment made Tai half-choke half-laugh, some odd combo that was. Davis didn't choke at all as he laughed, but after a moment they certainly looked at each other with very stern expressions. No rest for the wicked, they both decided. Hawkmon was lying in a mess of blood and pain, and here they were, laughing. But it was to relieve tension. To hope – maybe to pray – that the laughter could stop the shaking.

"Hawkmon!" Yolei shrieked, her voice cracking as Hawkmon's legs nearly burst into data. "Please... Don't go..."

"I love you, Yolei," he whispered, closing his eyes.

She bit down hard enough on her bottom lip to make it bleed, trying to hold back the tears from spilling. Within seconds, she felt a rush of air sweep by her, lifting her hair. There was a flurry of movement, and next thing she knew, Hawkmon was being lifted in the air by medics. Masks covered their faces and their hands, but Davis and Yolei knew they were digimon. They had to be. Human research had not rendered enough technology to help digimon recover.

"Halsemon," said the naked man as he watched the medics take Hawkmon away. Yolei looked up at him, pale, wide-eyed, her cheeks tear-stained. As he spoke, she slowly stood, the air leaving her lungs. Though he said Halsemon's name, he was staring at her. "The digimon based on the Horus God," he said, smiling, "As Osiris is Death, Horus is Life. Horus, the Life God— of protection, of power, of health.

"And I may have just taken all of it from him with a single attack, and he didn't even have the strength to scream."

"_FUCK YOU._"

Yolei clawed through the air toward him.

"Yolei, no!" Davis called out, yanking her back by the elbow and forming a barrier with his arms, separating her from the laughing naked man. What Davis didn't realize was that it wasn't _Yolei_ he should have been worrying about.

Within seconds, Ken's fist plowed into the man's face, knocking him several feet back. Stingmon, clueless, gave an innocent wave in Davis's direction, then motioned to stop Ken from hitting the man a second time.

Ken's punch didn't stop Yolei from struggling to get away from Davis. "Don't think just because you're naked that I won't attack you! I don't get the hots for assholes who hurt Hawkmon! ...Unless they're reformed, anyway..."

Recovering from Ken's attack, the blond man stumbled. He had a second – maybe two, maybe three – to look up into the eyes of Yolei. To briefly stare into Ken's venomous glare. Then Tai called out from atop Greymon's head, "You. Who are you? Why are you attacking us? You don't look like a digimon."

"Who cares who he is!" Yolei screeched, still clawing at the air. "He almost killed Hawkmon! Let me at 'im!"

"He might just be confused," Davis said in a soft voice, trying to avoid her elbows as she struggled to punch him. "You would be too if you came out of a lightning bolt!"

"You really did get a piece of Kari stuck in you, didn't you?" Yolei growled at him. "You got the innocent idiot part who thinks _MaloMyotismon _could have been a good guy!"

"_I'm_ the one who always puts my trust in people who haven't earned it, that's all me," Davis said with a pointed glare in Ken's direction. Yolei almost fell silent. Almost.

With all the commotion, the blond man hadn't said a single word, but he was watching them with an intense look in his eye. He wasn't gawking or screaming or paling or laughing. Just watching. Examining. Scrutinizing. How silly they must have seemed to him. But what did he know? The Destined went through terrible fights all the time. A lot of those fights felt like the last one, the final bad— _Maybe this is the last time my partner will get so hurt,_ they'd think every single time, and every single time they fell for it. Fighting was common, fighting happened all the time.

But what about the man? Did he fight all the time? Could he laugh or crack jokes or act like an ass to his best friends during those times and still know it was the end of the world if he messed up just the tiniest bit— still know the world could end even if he did every little thing 100 percent correct?

The man's gaze was pinned on Davis, even though it was Tai who asked the question. The two stared for a while. Neither knew how long. Whenever Davis inched to the side, or swerved to avoid Yolei's fists of steel, the man mirrored him.

Finally, Davis snapped at him. "Get some clothes on."

"Clothes..." the man muttered, looking down at himself. "Clothes..." he continued mumbling. "Like yours?" he asked, looking back up at Davis. Davis looked down at his jacket and denim jeans with big jumbled holes in the knees. The man cracked a half-grin. "No, no, the ones with the flames. Those ones."

Davis shifted. He almost released the screaming, raging Yolei. "So you've seen me in the Digital World then," he said, thinking back to when he was 11 and his trappings would always transform into that brilliant blue coat with the flame embroidery. He missed that outfit. He'd grown too much to wear it; truth be told, it'd been so many years that he forgot it was what the Digital World dressed him in. Now it gave him something different. The Digital World changed it up at least once or twice every couple of years— which made sense, Davis supposed. Just as people grew and matured, so did their tastes, and if the Digital World tapped into their desires and dreams, it only made sense their desires and dreams would change the way they dressed.

But if the man had seen Davis in the Digital World with that flame jacket – and by the shit-eating grin scrawled over his face, Davis knew he had – then that would mean it was at least 5 years ago. Could the man have seen a picture? Maybe... But things were never that simple, were they?

"Tai's right," Davis said, brow furrowing. "Who are you?"

"Does it matter?" the blond man said, leaning over the concrete. He opened his mouth in a long, wide yawn. Palming the concrete, he stretched his back like a cat and popped the joints in his spine. Then, cracking his neck, he smiled up at them.

"It's today, Davis," he said, still smiling. "Today is the end of the world you know."

"What?" Davis's brow furrowed, but by the time he managed to finish the syllable, another bright flash of green light tore through the wind. It shattered the road, wrenching trenches through the sediment, and created thick, gargantuan trails of sizzling, sparking craters that emitted white-hot flames and black unfurling smoke. Davis flung Yolei to the side and barely managed to jump out of the way in time.

The flash went right past him toward Tai and Greymon. Tai made a motion with his hand. Another blinding flash of light – this time from Tai's army – collided with the blond man's attack. The two energy bursts struggled against one another, giving high-pitched wails, until the army's blazing counterattack was split down the core.

The blond man's attack continued funneling through the center of the army's rapid fire. Greymon wrenched himself to the side, nearly breaking Tai's neck in the process. Half of the army was not so lucky; they were wiped out, completely obliterated until not even dust or ash remained of them.

Tai didn't stop to gawk or glare. He looked angry, yes. Davis had rarely seen his idol so pissed. But the predecessor of the goggles remained calm, reserved.

Directing the army to fire again, another attack surged from the crowd. This time, it struck before the blond man had time to form a defense. He flew backward, skull thudding hard against a structure that burst open upon impact, debris and shrapnel spilling like yoke from the innards of the building. Wreckage collapsed atop him, piling him underneath, mist and smoke coiling in the air.

"So much for the peaceful approach," Davis muttered. "C'mon, we don't have time to linger here," Davis went on, turning from the scrap heap and looking in Tai's direction. "We should start looking for the guy who attacked Kari and me. Maybe if we beat him, all the other corrupted folks will return to the Dark Area, too."

_Or at least I hope,_ he wanted to add.

Tai would have agreed to this plan if the scrap heap hadn't thumped after Davis's suggestion. A loud crunch sounded from behind Davis. When he looked around, he saw the man emerging from the broken walling and scattered beams. Submerged by a soot-like dust, the blond man bolted from the remnants. Davis saw several blinding flashes of light, then the man was ripping through the infrastructure and pulling the ground up with him.

The speed of his feet against the ground forced the concrete to crack and scatter around him. Tai barely had a second to register the supersonic velocity before a fist slammed into his jaw and sent him spiraling back into the army. Greymon's claw bludgeoned the blond man, but he ducked underneath and then leaped, landing on Greymon's hand. There was another burst of green light in the man's hand which he lanced through Greymon's skin. Feet taking off once again, he dragged the green light up Greymon's arm until the man barreled up to his face. With a grunt, the blond man jerked the green light out of Greymon's shoulder and spiked it into the giant dinosaur's cheek. Using the light as a boost, he one-handedly swung himself up on Greymon's snout and yanked the green light out, then skewered Greymon in the eye.

"GREYMON!" Tai cried out, reaching out for his digimon as Greymon roared.

He was illuminated by the bright explosion of bombs behind him. They flung into the air, headed toward the man and Greymon. The man looked up just in time to watch them descend upon them. Holding up a hand, the green light shot through the fire and rained down with the orange. Teal and red and gold and mint green all blossomed in the sky.

Both the man and Greymon were blown back by the force of impact, though not as much as they would have if the man hadn't detonated his own energy against the explosions. The blond man hit the ground in a roll and jumped to his feet, then raced forward with fire on his heels. Grabbing a chunk of shrapnel twice his size, he chucked it into the prevailing army and smashed several Commandramon in the process, then grabbed one of them by the ankle and flung him into another.

"General Kamiya!" cried a Sealsdramon just before the blond man's fist plowed into his face, sending him buckling backwards in a whirlwind of green flashing energy.

Tai twisted around, but he was only fast enough to get up his arms and protect his own face. The blond man's arms worked in a blur as he tried to upper-cut him, but Tai tilted back and motioned for Davis. Davis smashed both his palms into the concrete and allowed a rumble to quake the ground beneath the blond man. A second later, fire exploded from the ground, knocking sewer lids off their hinges, and blew the man back into a crowd of Giramon and Mamemon. The sound of buzzsaws crackled in the air as the Giramon surrounded the scorched blond man. The blond man seemed to cringe at the Giramon.

Even though Davis's fire had wrapped around him, there wasn't a single singe or burn mark besides the smoke unfurling from his shoulders. He didn't have a single scrape on him, not even from when he was catapulted into the building. He couldn't have been human... Even when Davis first discovered phase one of the newest evolution – something Gennai had referred to as the "Enigma Evolution" once – he was still injured by the Jackal. He still hurt. His skin still ripped and tore and his bones still cracked and broke...

What was this man?

A thousand spheres of bright green light hurtled around them. The Giramon cried out before bursting into squares of data. Mamemon self-detonated. The blond man hurled himself into the sky, as if in flight, and pointed both palms toward the legions below. Hellfire danced in the indestructible man's eyes.

"Me?" The man turned his head toward Davis, as if he heard Davis speak. He laughed. "It doesn't matter who I am. I'm not important."

Then thousands of dark photospheres rained down from his hands and exploded on the ground, where the army exploded with them.

Tai, Greymon, Davis, ExVeemon... Ken, Stingmon, Yolei... They all watched at the forefront, stunned, stiff.

With a loud thud, the man landed on one foot and one knee upon the ground before the crater that was left of his attack, his head bowed.

"Davis," Yolei said, looking at him. "I can do it, too, you know. I've been practicing."

"Me, too," Tai said, not taking his eyes off the indestructible creature with fire in his eyes.

Ken was holding Stingmon's hand. He bit down for awhile before adding, "So can I. I think... I think most of the Japanese Destined have been able to unlock it. The Destined in other countries haven't been so lucky, though."

_Not surprising,_ Davis thought with a wry frown. _There's a reason it was the Japanese Destined chosen to go to the Digital World above all others... Is it on our shoulders to protect an entire two worlds, yet again?_

But that was no different than the usual.

He was just hoping... since there were more of them now...

Shaking his head, he began moving toward the blond man. "We won't fight another Destined if we don't have to," Davis said. "I don't know what's been done to you, but it's obvious you can unlock the new evolution, too. Please, help us against the Endless Ones."

The man stared at Davis. The smoke was smoldering in his eyes. His hair moved with the wind barreling up from the surmounting attacks. The little amount of digimon soldiers who hadn't withered from the attack were struggling to stand, to move, but it was so very difficult. Digimon had died, and he had killed them. Without a hint of remorse, without a second of hesitance. He obliterated them all.

And it wasn't like in the Digital World where they could be reborn— if digimon died here, where the dead didn't just simply reformat and be reborn, what happened to them?

Could Davis really forgive this man? The digimon Ken killed were able to re-hatch in Primary Village. At least they had a second chance. At least he did it without realizing what exactly he was doing.

Davis wasn't allowed to fully think about his peace offering. He received his answer when the blond man raised his hand to the sky and it flashed a bright, petulant scarlet. Thunder rattled the heavens. Then the spinning, spitting vortex above their heads cracked wide open, revealing billions of glowing, hungry eyes. Eyes of the Dark Area's Nightmare Soldiers.

"My name, though... what's in a name?" the man laughed, ignoring Davis's other questions, churning the seas of the skies, the viruses of the evil ones. The billions of corrupt digimon bellowed from the atmosphere, screaming, shrieking, crying to be freed, to feed, to fight. "I am light... I am dark... I am real and unreal. I am not one man, I am a few. One of me is someone you know all too well, one of me is someone you know not at all. I fall from the stars. The light grows with me, reaching for the cosmos, where darkness smothers all. I lead the light to its destruction. I am the Black Hole of the aether, where planets and stars and galaxies and space and light and _time_ itself drain and die.

"At one time, I had several names. Chaos. Fallen. Demon Lord. Wielder of Courage and Friendship and Miracles. But now I have one.

"_Lucesco._"

_**THUMP. THUMPTHUMPTHUMP. THUMPTHUMP.**_

Six pillars of darkness catapulted the ground, hurled from the vortex in the sky. They whirred dangerously, hands screaming from their surfaces. As the beams of shadow dispersed, they revealed within them one figure per pillar.

As the figures revealed themselves, Tai nearly collapsed. "No..." he whispered, grabbing his chest. "Not again..."

There, surrounding the indestructible creature – this "Lucesco" – stood six devastating digimon. There was Etemon, grinning, tilting his head to the side. Then there were Myotismon and MetalSeadramon, paired by Puppetmon and Machinedramon. At the center in front of Lucesco, crouched, his forehead resting in his palm, was the close-eyed Piemon— whose eyes opened as soon as Tai's gaze rested on him.

"It has been... _far too long _since my last jest," Piemon said with a small smile, staring Tai in the eye. "Still crying for sister, are you? But it's too late. She won't escape this time. None of you will."

Then billions of more shadow beams shot from the skies and burrowed deep in the ground.

The evil digimon were descending upon the world.

(-'**102010200**'-)

**Next Chapter Preview:** -"Just do it! I don't care if you're the oldest! I don't care if Dad chose _you_, the Inoue who doesn't care at all, to inherit the business! I don't care if you have the legendary hero partner! I just _don't care_!"

-"Leomon..." "Do you have to go?" "I'm afraid so. Though I cannot tell you that you are safe, I _can _tell you that you are saf_er_ than a lot of the other humans on this world. I must protect the weak." "No. You haveta protect _yourself_! DARK NETWORK."

-"RAZOR WING." _"You_." "It has been far too long, Etemon. And you, Leomon." "No, Leomon! No! He's on our side!"

-"Have you danced on his grave yet, monkey? Danced on the grave of the dead Demon Lord of Greed?"

Next time, it's **Lighthouse Session VI: The Cataclysm of the Hulk Girl, Part Two**! A story of old allies-turned-enemies meeting face-to-face, reminiscing of a time long past! ...Oh, and bad Elvis puns.


	6. I&VI: The Cataclysm of the Hulk Girl

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. Thank you.

**Theme Song:** "Half Life" by Imogen Heap

**Author's Note:** This chapter references events that happen in the Digimon Manga "V-Tamer", which is about a parallel version of Taichi in an alternate universe traveling the Digital World, trying to save it from Demon. There's a Devimon and Etemon who play a role in that story.

(-'010102000'-)

"It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream."

—Edgar Allen Poe

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session VI**

... Part II: The Cataclysm of the Hulk Girl ...

The sound of war pounded in her ears.

As the Nightmare Soldiers fell like rain from the heavens, Jun watched the havoc unfold around her. Earth's allies and their opponents ripped apart buildings and docks, sending waves of smoke and fire and torrents spilling through the roads. Gunfire and other human defenses – tanks, armed soldiers, bombs and bazookas – blasted in the distance. Digimon defenses, some sent by Azulongmon to help defend Earth, nearly knocked Jun off her feet more than once as she and Momoe hurried through the chaotic streets.

BigMamemon rolled down a road, people screamed and dashed for safety, hordes of Apemon and Igamon and Andromon plowed through armies of Boltmon, Gazimon, and Raremon. Off the coast were MarineDevimon and Hangyomon battling MarineAngemon and Mermaimon. Reapermon and Sagittarimon decimated a small portion of Odaiba in their massive battle, while Deltamon and Infermon went head-to-head with armies of Earth's Babamon and Jijimon. Archnemon and Mummymon danced in the center of the city, hands raised to the sky, smiles on their faces, tearing apart any Centaurumon or Unimon who crossed paths with them.

"This is our world...?"

Momoe said exactly what Jun was thinking. However, her voice broke as she reached the last word, and her knees collapsed underneath her. She crumpled, trying unsuccessfully to hide the tears in her eyes. "I can't," she whispered, holding her mouth. "It's too terrible, Jun."

"Don't ever say you can't, Momoe," Jun replied, grabbing her by the wrist and gently pulling her to her feet. She thought about what TK told her— to have strength, as one of the few people who could defend this world— and bit back her own tears. She had to be strong. "C'mon, we're almost there."

A battling Valkyrimon and Tyrannomon blocked their path. A Mammothmon's massive foot sent a spray of gravel and debris in their direction. Jun knocked Momoe aside just in time to avoid a beam of energy ricocheting from a fight between Thunderbirdmon and Zanbamon.

Jun bowed her head, face caked in dirt and blood. How much more could they take?

"Jun!" came a voice behind her. Her head shot up. Could it be?

She whirled around. It was!

"FIRAMON!" she cried, tears bursting from her eyes. Her partner was running in her direction, crying out her name just as she cried his.

"I smelled you from the café!" he called out, skidding to a halt as he reached her. "No one smells as good as my Junie-Junebug!"

"That sounds a bit creepy coming from you in this form," Jun said, holding back a relieved laugh. Normally he was in his rookie form, who was a lot smaller and cuter than this one, but they needed power and that was exactly what Firamon had. He was a large quadruped with a lion-like bone structure, fire-orange fur, and a golden mane of hair. Red-feathered wings burst from his back and flecked the sky with curling orbs of fire that flickered as a tuft on the tip of his tail, the crown of his head, and the joints of his hips, paws, and ears. There were few champion digimon as intimidating as Firamon was.

On either side of him were three other figures. To one side was Momoe's partner, a large yellow dramon-type digimon by the name of Cyclonemon. Legends say, though Momoe wouldn't confirm or deny it, that Cyclonemon's right eye had been gouged out by the great warrior Leomon during an epic fight for Primary Village, and that the reason why Cyclonemon's right arm was abnormally larger than his left was because of his mythic attempts to defeat Leomon once and for all. Why such a digimon would want Momoe as a partner, Jun couldn't say, but Jun did know Momoe's patience with Cyclonemon was something Jun could never have if Jun were to be in her position.

On Firamon's other side was a human boy riding on the back of his own partner, a blue-scaled Coredramon squatting on both his front paws and hind legs. His wings were suspended, though he hadn't taken flight. Red horns jutted from his nose and brow, giving him a sinister appearance. The digimon himself was no surprise compared to his partner, who immediately took Jun two glances to surmise as she looked up at him and saw that he was, in fact, Shuu.

"Shuu!" she exclaimed, nearly tripping.

"Firamon mentioned he could sense you – uhh, smell you anyway, how awkward – so I thought I'd come help," Shuu said with a grin. He took out a bottle of brandy, kicked his head back, took a huge swallow, and tossed it to her, his grin not faded a single bit despite the burn. "You ready to kick some ass, ladies?"

Jun said nothing at first. Then she grinned back at him, took a big swig, and nodded. "Now that you mention it," she said, "I _have_ been more frustrated lately than usual. What do you say to relieving the tension, Kido?"

Shuu caught the implication and returned it in full. "I say I take full responsibility for the relieving."

"CYCLONEMON!" screeched Momoe, who had finally recovered from the fall. She ran up to her digimon and leaped on his massive arm, clinging to him. Though it was impossible to see through the brown mask that armored half his face, Jun swore she could see a red hue ink over the yellow rubbery flesh of his cheeks. "I was so worried!" she sobbed, resting her forehead against his bulging, pulsing veins. "And Devimon was so mean to me, but I like him! He kind of reminds me of you!"

Cyclonemon said nothing. But that wasn't a shocker. He was usually silent, especially in times like these. He simply reached forward, gently rubbing her tears away with his massive hand – a hand that was at least three times the size of Momoe's entire body – and lifted her to his back.

That was one of the rare times Cyclonemon spoke. "He's near," he said, looking off in the distance.

For a moment, Jun wondered who he could have meant. The enemy? But the enemy was all around them. Then she knew— Azulongmon had finally sent in more forces... and surely Leomon would be amongst them, the best of the best. Protecting his young friends, the 12 home-grown Destined.

But then again, it wasn't uncommon for the lion-type digimon to visit Earth. He just rarely stayed long enough for Cyclonemon to face him.

That was when Jun saw a boy wandering the streets. He was small in stature, but must have been around her age, maybe her brother's age at the very youngest. He had dark blue hair and pale skin, and a narrowed look to his eyes. "Ken...?" she whispered, reaching out for him.

"That's not Ken," Shuu said, grabbing her hand and pulling her back. "I know who he is," Shuu whispered, hoping the wandering boy – who wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings – hadn't heard her. "He was rushed into the emergency room years ago, when I was visiting my father at the hospital. I remember because there was such a huge deal about it, he was some pretty well-known kid," he continued, glaring at the boy. "He left the hospital in a body bag."

(-1010201-)

_**CRASH**_

Yolei screamed as Lucesco grabbed the ambulance which took off with Hawkmon and _tossed it back at her_. With his bare hands. Stingmon managed to shove her out the way just in time to avoid it, getting hit by it instead in her place. She briefly said his name, but was distracted by the sight of Lucesco launching in her direction. People scrambled out of the driver and passenger seat, digimon orderlies filing out of the back door, trying desperately to get free. He tore through them easily in his haste.

"No," Yolei said with a glare, rushing forward. "Get away from him!"

Lucesco wasn't going for _her_. He was going for _Hawkmon._

"Uh-huh, where you think you goin, pretty lady?" came a voice. A monkey-shaped digimon bolted above the blond man and landed between her and the ambulance, separating them.

"I don't have time for you!" Yolei howled, punching him in the face. He flew back, nearly knocking Lucesco aside, but Lucesco grabbed him by the back of his head and pushed him back in the direction of Yolei.

The monkey digimon – Etemon – grumbled angrily, then said, "Well, dang! The lil lady has some _muscles_, I tell ya what! But I have _better_ ones, uh-huh. Check these biceps out!"

"I don't care!" she barked, trying to rush past him.

"Yolei!" came Ken's voice, a second too late.

Etemon reached out a hand. "Monk_ick_!"

His foot smashed into her nose. Yolei flung on her back and toppled over, then flipped midair back to her feet, spluttering. Shit! She didn't have time for this! Lucesco was trying to get her partner! All this time... Hawkmon was always so protective of her, always saving her, and now she had the power to save him... yet would it still be useless?

And here she was, being held back by an ape-shaped Elvis wannabe who made terrible puns.

Like, "I ain't nothin' but a hound-monkey! DARK NETWORK, uh-huh."

A ball of dark energy shot out of his hand. Yolei rolled across the ground, dodging it.

"That was the worst pun I've ever heard in my LIFE. And trust me, one of my best friends is Davis, so that's saying a LOT."

"It was not that bad!" Etemon said defensively. "_Don't be cruel,_ uh-huh!"

Yolei smacked her palm against her forehead. When Yolei looked up, she saw the others were involved with their own fights, as well. There were only four of them compared to their seven enemies— sure, they had their partners, but partners weren't used to being split up!

_Hawkmon... I'll save you._

"You won't," said Lucesco, ripping open the side of the ambulance with his bare hands. He reached in and scooped out Hawkmon's unconscious body.

Yolei reached out to him. "HAWKMON."

Using his teeth, Lucesco bit into his _own_ hand and drew a streamlet of blood from the wound between his forefinger and thumb. Then, grinning at Yolei, he dipped his wounded hand deep inside Hawkmon's injury. With a yelp, Hawkmon convulsed. Yolei snapped and grabbed Etemon by the wrist, using him as a bullet as she chucked him right for Lucesco's face.

Thank God for the evolution that gave them the ability to manipulate reality and give themselves superhuman abilities.

"Get away from him!" As Etemon plowed into Lucesco, Hawkmon slipped from his assailant's grip and landed hard on the ground. Yolei brought up her hands and felt her veins pulsate beneath skin, bulging, inking through the frail tissue. Catacombs of data raked through her hands and flickered in her hair. Her tears floated toward the sky in streams of data.

As she hurdled in Lucesco and Etemon's direction, wind erupted around her.

Lucesco looked up in time and rolled out of the way, abandoning Hawkmon _(It's done, anyway_, he thought, _I can't take it back now)_. Etemon was not so lucky. The gale of wind struck him at full-force, ripping the very air out of his body. He stumbled, thinking about his plight, his desires. He remembered how much he'd wanted to face Tai. That stupid, stupid boy who somehow managed to defeat him, to suck him into this odd world of unknowing and evil. How his once-beautiful body was tangled by the cables of the Digital World, and he was sucked into their depths.

He'd returned, of course, in that metal body of his. But his demise was once again promised by that damn lion-digimon and the blue-haired Destined with glasses— his orange-haired digimon with the god's hammer. So close had Etemon come to vengeance at that moment, too.

He heaved, falling to his knees. He looked up at Yolei, her hands outstretched to him, tears falling from her eyes and hovering in the sky, turning to data.

"Yolei," said a voice behind her. She didn't need to turn to know who it was.

She continued staring into Etemon's eyes, her hands outstretched. The wind continued ripping the air out of his lungs— the Enigma Evolution had activated inside of her. It was bright and warm inside her chest, flowing out of her hands. "What are you doing here?" she asked the speaker, harsher than she meant to. "You should be in the shelter with Momoe and Chizuru and Mom and Dad."

"Only Mom and Dad are there," he replied, also staring into Etemon's eyes. "I couldn't just do nothing while all this was happening. Not with you and Momoe still out there."

"What about Chizuru?"

"She's of the same opinion I am," he replied with a slight grin. "We're siblings. We have to stick together."

Yolei squeezed her eyes shut and let the feelings rush over her. Her siblings... Were they okay? It was Mantarou who stood behind her, watching her. How did he know she was here? He should know better than to come out. Even though he was also a Destined now, he rarely saw his digimon. He'd become the partner of an important figure in the Digital World, so they weren't around each other much, no matter how much they cared about one another. In that way, Yolei supposed she had it easy. Hawkmon never had friends or a home before Yolei came around, so she never had to worry about him leaving her— she _was_ his family, his friends, his home. Mantarou did not have that leisure.

How jealous and empty that must have made him sometimes, being unable to help his partner.

It was so easy for Yolei to be jealous of her own siblings— Momoe's beauty, Chizuru's smarts, Mantarou's easygoing personality. And what did Yolei have that they didn't? At one time, nothing... but then she became a Destined. _Her_. The youngest, the least important. The one who had to fight to be acknowledged by her parents, because her own siblings had already done everything before her. She never got anything new, just hand-me-downs. She had to share everything, even her room, up until a few years ago when Mantarou and Momoe finally moved out.

But then even that exception – the one thing that made her unique – was taken from her when her sisters and brother also inherited partners. Mantarou was given a legend. Momoe's partner was massive and intimidating and, like Gatomon, never needed to revert to his rookie form. Chizuru's partner didn't seem like much but Gennai once said he had the potential to digivolve into one of the strongest digimon the Digital World had ever seen.

Maybe it was petty. No, that wasn't a "maybe". That was a _definitely._ It was _definitely _petty to be disappointed her siblings were also Chosen. But it was times like these that she could appreciate the development, times when help was most needed. Unfortunately, Mantarou was needlessly endangering himself.

How could Chizuru be so irresponsible as to let him try to find her and Momoe without his partner?

"Go to the shelter, Mantarou," Yolei said, watching Etemon struggle to find his breath. "It's not safe here. I'll help Chizuru find Momoe."

Mantarou opened his mouth to argue, but Yolei snapped and said, "Just do it! I don't care if you're the oldest! I don't care if Dad chose _you_, Mr. Cocky-Don't-Care, to inherit the business! I don't care if you have the legendary hero partner! I just _don't care_! None of that matters now! You're my brother, I love you, and I'm the most experienced here, so go! You can't defend yourself!"

"But I can," Mantarou said. She could hear the easygoing smile in his voice.

It was only in that second she dared to take her eyes off Etemon. There, she saw her brother, sitting atop the shoulder of his partner.

"He decided it was now or never," Mantarou said. "He wanted to protect me and help out."

There, atop his partner's shoulder he sat, his fingers tangled in the digimon's fur. Yolei's jaw almost dropped.

Leomon had come to Earth to help them and protect Mantarou— Mantarou, Leomon's partner.

"It is nice to meet you, young one," said Leomon, looking down at Yolei. Yolei fumbled, briefly stopping her attack in shock. "Though I have not yet had the opportunity to introduce myself, I have heard much of you. I am Leomon."

She had to find Mimi and Joe. They were the last ones to see Leomon alive, weren't they? And neither of them had the opportunity to see him again with all the commotion. They would be ecstatic to see him on Earth, especially with how they left things!

"Now hurry up," said Mantarou carelessly, "So we can find Momoe."

"I know where she is!" came another voice. Yolei's heart jumped into her throat. Where had it come from? She whirled around to see none other than TK and Patamon approaching them at a running pace. TK looked tired, sweat dripping down his pores, soaking his clothes. As soon as he reached the two Inoue siblings, he bent over, grabbing his knees and panting. "She's..." Taking a deep breath, he continued, "She's heading toward the usual café." He looked up at Mantarou and Yolei. "She's with Jun. I don't know if they can make it without their partners."

Mantarou nodded. As he and Leomon turned to leave, Mantarou craned his neck to look at his youngest sister and give her one of his stunning, toothy grins. "Be careful, sis!"

"Yeah, you should just shut-up and go to the shelter anyway!" she barked back at him. "And if you think I'm going to tell _you _to be careful after pulling this stunt, you have another thing coming! You should know better! I don't care if Leomon's with you, it's still too dangerous!"

"_Chiiiiiiiill._ Make love, not war, baby," Mantarou told her. "I'll get Momoe, and we'll head to the shelter ASAP, okay? Us and Chizuru. Well, okay, we'll head there after defending Odaiba. Like, after this war. Okay?"

"NOT OKAY."

"Okay, see ya, sis, byeeee!" he called after her, patting Leomon on the shoulder as a way to tell him to hurry away before Yolei could argue any more.

She screamed after him, trying to catch up. Mantarou and Leomon only had enough time for Leomon to turn to TK as TK said his name.

"It is nice to see you again, too," Leomon said, peering between TK and Patamon. "I have missed you both very much."

"Leomon..." TK croaked. Patamon gave a tiny sniffle.

"Do you have to go?" Patamon asked.

"I'm afraid so," Leomon replied. "Though I cannot tell you that you are safe, I _can _tell you that you are saf_er_ than a lot of the other humans on this world. I must protect the weak."

"No," said a choking Etemon.

"Eek!" All of them jumped and turned around. Yolei had completely forgotten about the monkey digimon! He was trying to recover from her attack, his fingers clawing at his throat, his knees wobbling beneath him.

He stared at Leomon, his killer— "You haveta protect _yourself_! DARK NETWORK."

A sphere of energy crackled as it hurled toward Leomon. Leomon's expression wrinkled into a growl as he raised his arms to block the attack, swinging Mantarou behind him. Patamon shouted out for him, holding out a hoof.

"RAZOR WING." Twin beams in the shape of wings knocked Etemon's attack off-course. It struck the ground with destructive force, rupturing the concrete and billowing into the sewer below. Everyone looked up to see Devimon hovering in the air above them, wings flapping, arms crossed over his chest as he glared down at Etemon.

Etemon snarled at him. _"You_."

"It has been much too long, Etemon," Devimon said, his lip curling into a grin. He then turned his eyes in Leomon's direction, his grin fading just a bit. "And you, Leomon."

TK had to grab Leomon's arm and pull him back as hard as he could to stop the massive feline from immediately attacking Devimon. "No, Leomon! No! He's on our side!"

Even then, Leomon broke free of the smaller boy and unsheathed his blade. With a swipe, a shriek pierced the sky as Leomon's machete clashed against Devimon's arm. Devimon's lips curled into a shit-eating grin.

"Nonsense!" Leomon growled. "He will betray you! No matter what side he is on, Devimon works for himself and no one else! He will turn on you in the moment you need him most, Child of Hope! Do not believe his nonsense! He has seduced you into believing you are safe... but you will never be safe so long as he is watching your back."

"PAY ATTENTION TO ME." Etemon threw an attack at Leomon and Devimon. The two champion digimon ducked, barely managing to dodge it in time.

"Don't you think I know that?" TK's voice broke as he said it. Something about the question made Leomon stop cold in his tracks. TK bowed his head. "You know what Devimon did to Angemon..."

"I do, I do," Devimon chanted, blocking one of Etemon's attacks from striking Leomon. Leomon faltered.

It took him a moment to register TK's words. Then, bowing his head slightly, Leomon lowered his blade and said, "For now— for _you— _I won't attack him. But know this, Devimon," Leomon went on, looking back up at the smirking, fiendish devil digimon soaring above them. "I will not hesitate to end you once and for all the moment you touch a hair on the heads of these children."

"What a frightening threat," Devimon mocked. "I look forward to your failure." Pausing, he went on, "But you are correct in one thing. I _will_ betray them."

"Leomon, we have to go," Mantarou whispered.

"Not so fast!" Etemon growled, throwing another attack in their direction. "I _will _have my revenge, uh-huh! You've just checked into the heartbreak hotel!"

Once again, a blast of dark energy from Devimon skewered Etemon's attack. With a grunt, Devimon walloped Etemon upside the head and sent the ape digimon spiraling forward. Slashing his claws, he sunk them deep inside Etemon's chest and said with as detesting a voice he could manage, "Have you danced on his grave yet, monkey?"

"Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis—"

"Um, he's not Willis," Yolei squeaked.

"You do not remember the feelings of your past life," Devimon whispered, clenching his claws around Etemon's heart. "But _I _do. The memories you have are still fresh as wounds, but the feelings are gone. The past you had before _this_ world and _this _time, the past where you wanted to play in the fields, surrounded by the human children. Now all you desire is to slaughter them. How pitiful. One child ruins you so the rest must be as terrible as the one who ended you. Your second master has returned and now you lick his feet like a dumb Dogmon, forgetting what honor you once had in betraying him.

"But then again, he _has_ offered to bring back your friend," Devimon whispered. Etemon's brow furrowed into a glare.

"You don't know nothin'," he growled back.

"I know everything!" Devimon barked with laughter. "Have you danced on the grave of your dead friend, Etemon? You might as well. The friend you betrayed all your morals for! The friend whose death warped you so! Tell me, when was the last time you visited the Demon Lord Barbamon?"

This seemed to strike a chord. TK himself had faced Etemon on a variety of occasions, and by the look on his face, Yolei could tell he'd never seen such a look of confusion and betrayal on the enemy. Yolei didn't know why, but something about it... something about it was so very sad, something she'd never felt for an enemy before.

No, she'd felt it with Ken. When MaloMyotismon slaughtered Archnemon and Mummymon, she mourned them even though they had been nothing but horrible to her. She'd regretted Oikawa's death, that he should go just as he found the Digital World and feel remorse for his actions. BlackWarGreymon showed his true colors with his tragic death.

And now she could feel it again, permeating in her chest, pulsing through her veins.

Etemon was crying.

"All I wanted..." Etemon whispered, reaching up to touch Devimon's face, "...was to play with the children..."

"Until one of them killed you," Devimon whispered back. "And now your only desire is to destroy them."

"But not for _him_," Etemon's teeth snapped together in a snarl. "I don't do this for my old master."

"No," Devimon went on for him, still smiling. "You do this for your friend. You follow your master to save him. To _get that friend back._"

"I may fail now," Etemon growled, "But at least he will prevail. At least Barbamon will return. I _will _save him through my death, unlike how I was unable to save him from those _children_ through my life. Those evil, disgusting vermin who took something else I love! I'll never want to play with them again!"

"Take a good look, Etemon." Devimon turned him around, his hands clamped around Etemon's shoulders. He shoved him in the direction of Yolei, of Mantarou, of TK. "Take a good look at them! They are nothing like the humans of old! They are not Neo Saiba, your killer! They are not the first, they will not be the last! They could have loved you. But no, you will never play with the children."

"Yolei!" shouted Ken. Behind them, Stingmon sent off a barrage of attacks at Puppetmon to stop Puppetmon from coming to Etemon's aid. Ken rushed up to her and wrapped his arms around her, twirling her around. "I saw Lucesco! I'm sorry, I tried to get here sooner—"

"Ken," she whispered, embracing him back. "Hawkmon, Lucesco hurt him more but I can't get to him... Etemon, he's..."

"_Look_ at them, Etemon," Devimon said, leaning forward so that his lips tickled Etemon's ear. Etemon stared at Yolei, then rested his gaze particularly on the blue-haired boy, so brittle-looking, so small. So human. "Yes, now you see it, don't you? You and Barbamon both just wanted to play with the children at one time. Doesn't this sight make you happy?"

"Barbamon..." Etemon whispered, the tears flooding his eyes again, running down from behind his sunglasses and trickling off his chin. His eyes were pinned on Ken.

The Dark Spore child.

"So smile," Devimon went on, "And die happy. Now, purple-haired child with the Twinkies! Finish it!"

Yolei jerked herself away from Ken. "My name is YOLEI, ya know! And if you keep addressing me that way every single damn time we see each other, I'm going to stop bringing you Twinkies!"

"Fine," Devimon said through gritting teeth. "The nice girl can bring them instead."

"NICE girl? Are you talking about my sister? Oh my God! She is so not nice! At least not as nice as me..."

"Let's end this fight," Devimon said with a knowing grin.

"Don't need to tell _me_ twice," Yolei grumbled. She lifted her hands. Gales of wind swept around her, lifting her hair, tugging at her clothes. Her glasses shook violently against her face. Data whirled around, carrying to the sky, dissolving into the black vortex clouds.

Etemon was sobbing now, holding his face. He'd lost any will to fight. He crumpled to his knees. "Goodbye..." he said to Devimon, "...Pet of the Fallen Seraphimon..."

"Unlike you, I am his pet no longer," Devimon told him, wrenching his hand out of Etemon's chest, taking his heart with him. "I have no one he can give back to me."

"He wants to destroy them, you know," Etemon said. Devimon's head rose as he spoke. "Once and for all. Our master is going to finally stop the Council. And he'll use the children to do it."

Devimon watched him. It was Etemon's final words— no, his final warning. The true intention of the Endless Ones, betrayed one last time by the Ete Monkey. Though Yolei never figured Devimon for the merciful type, and least of all kind, he rested a hand on Etemon's shoulder. "I know," he replied. "I know."

At that moment, Yolei's attack struck Etemon full-force, ripping the last of his breath out of his lungs along with his heart. The ultimate digimon – one of their fiercest foes – then dispersed in a cloud of white and blue data.

It wasn't long after that when Yolei realized she, too, had begun crying for the dark digimon who at one time must have been so much more soft-hearted than he became.

_I'm sorry,_ she thought, her fingers entangling with the glowing, floating data. _In another lifetime, we could've been friends, you and I... Goodbye, Etemon._

"Devimon, what was that about?" TK asked. Patamon peered up curiously at the virus digimon.

Devimon's face was tipped to the sky, watching Etemon's data rise to the heavens. "Most times," he said, "a dead digimon's data is reformatted and reborn in Primary Village. Sometimes, though, that data gets scrambled or lost and sent to someplace else."

"Someplace else..."

"Like another server, another Digital World," Devimon replied. "_This_ Digital World that you know is simply one. Like there is more than one computer in this world, there is more than one Digital World. Etemon might have been reformatted here, but he died somewhere else. In another world. Another _dimension._"

There were other dimensions like theirs? Yolei remembered mentioning that, and she and Izzy had briefly discussed it with the others. Countless parallel worlds, parallel Digital Worlds— could that mean there were parallel Earths, as well? If, in this past life, Etemon had wanted to play with the human children... then there were planets filled with other humans, as well.

What were they like? Would they ever see them?

"Yolei," said a gentle voice beside her. It was her brother. Silently, she reached up to touch the tears on her cheeks, but didn't reply to him. Finally, she felt his arms wrap around her. How could she have wanted him to leave? Even if he was safer in the shelter, there was nothing quite like a hug from a sibling. "I'm sorry," he said, "But I have to help Momoe now."

"I take it back," Yolei told him, smiling through her tears. "Be careful, big bro."

He smiled back at her, a tinge sad himself, and nodded.

When Leomon and Mantarou finally left – TK and Patamon giving Leomon a final hug, Leomon giving Devimon a final death-glare – Yolei rushed to the side of her partner. Hawkmon was sprawled out, panting. Lucesco had left him not long ago to venture in Davis's direction.

"We need a doctor," Yolei said, biting her lip. Where could Joe be?

(-'**1020101**'-)

**Preview for next chapter:**

-"_Friends. _Who cares about friends! Friends say they'll never leave you, but they always do. Beelzemon left me, after all."

-"It's the perfect time for this," he said, kissing her.

-"Cherubimon, stop!" "It hurts, Puppetmon. It hurts, deep inside. I'm so hungry... starving... famished! I can't get enough..." "Okay, I'll go get you some berries. Wait here." "No. I need something bigger, something stronger... But I can't eat you, can I?"

-"Kill me. I can't hurt you two."

-"All my life, I've been a slave to darkness, allowing it to control me, to make a puppet out of me. This time will be different. This time, I won't be a pawn in its game!"


	7. I&VII: The Cataclysm of the Emperor

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention, like Oreos. No infringement intended. Thank you.

**Theme Song:** "Enter the Shogun Executioner" by James Hannigan and "Yuriko" by James Hannigan

(-'010102000'-)

"One may know how to gain a victory, and know not how to use it."

—Pedro Calderon de la Barca

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session VII**

... Part III: The Cataclysm of the Emperor ...

"Devimon, MOVE."

Patamon just barely managed to violently head-butt Devimon out of the way of an incoming attack before it struck. However, instead of hitting Devimon, it whipped straight across Patamon's back. Red electrical currents ran wildly over his body, traveling up and down his face, his hooves, his ears. He cried out at the same time TK did.

Devimon stumbled a couple of steps and reeled around, eyes wide. Patamon hit the ground hard, smoking, twitching. Devimon's shoulders went limp, his brow furrowed.

"Patamon..." TK whispered, rushing over to his digimon's side and picking him up, cradling the rookie to his chest. "Are you okay?"

"I will be," Patamon whimpered. "Just let me rest for a moment, okay?"

TK leaned his cheek against Patamon's head as he silently nodded.

Devimon watched with a pale look on his face.

"Is it really you, Seraphimon's prince?" came a slimy, suave voice above them all. "Oh, it _is_! I never thought I'd see the day, Devimon! How very tragic."

The speaker, Patamon's attacker, Devimon's accusor— they were all the same, with an appearance that made TK wretch:

Myotismon.

(-'10102101'-)

Puppetmon sighed. _Once again, I'm in this situation... Unable to stop... Unable to think..._

_Maybe that's what's best._

Simultaneous to Myotismon's attack came Stingmon's. A barrage of rapidfire cut off Ken and Yolei from not only Hawkmon's unconscious body, but TK and the others. Yolei and Ken instantly twisted around to see Stingmon hovering above them, his wings buzzing, the spikes on his arms pointed in their direction.

"Ken..." Stingmon's voice was hoarse. "I can't... stop myself... It's Puppetmon. Somehow, he's controlling my movements!"

"What? Impossible," Ken said. He couldn't stop himself from rushing in Stingmon's direction. "I'll save you!"

"Stay away from me! SPIKING FINISH."

Ken flung back as the attack struck ground seconds from his feet.

_Silly digimon,_ Puppetmon continued to think, approaching Stingmon. _You always have hope things will turn out for the best._

"Oh, don't you just love it when friends fight?" said Puppetmon, who plopped right down on the buzzing Stingmon's shoulder, smiling down at Ken and Yolei. "Oh wait, no," he went on, "That's just me! Hahahah!"

"We're not fighting," Ken said. "You're _making_ him attack me." 

"Yes," Puppetmon agreed, "I am. Now cut him up real good, Stingmon!"

"SPIKING FINISH." Stingmon's spike soared through the air.

"Ken, move!" Yolei cried, knocking him aside. She barely got her own arms up in time to block Stingmon's attack with a gale of wind, which burst forward and pushed Stingmon back.

Puppetmon's fingers twitched. Stingmon turned to stab Yolei.

"I won't let you!" Ken screamed, picking himself up off his feet and now flinging _himself_ in front of _Yolei_.

"No, Ken!" she cried, trying to move him away. "You can't do this for me!"

Stingmon's blade whistled against the wind as it plunged toward them.

"No," Stingmon snapped, fist convulsing as it stopped an inch away from Yolei's and Ken's faces. Struggling, Stingmon's entire body began to quiver. "I can't... let you do this to me... to _us_..." Even Stingmon's voice shook as he strained to stunt the attack. "Not... to my _friends..._"

"Friends...?"

Puppetmon tried time and time again to suppress the memories, but over and over again they remained, stuck in his head, playing over and over. Unable to stop it, stop time, to go back and try all over again, to change the events. His whole life, Puppetmon just wanted to play. Didn't matter how or with whom, just someone, with something.

But no one wanted to play with him.

Well, except _one_ person. Maybe two, though that person didn't count— TK never really wanted to play with him, just trick him. The other person had really been sincere, though.

Friends.

Was that what he and Puppetmon had been, before he died and vanished forever?

What was in friendship, anyway? What made friendship such a strong facet of power? That was what Cherrymon had said, just as Puppetmon died. That the one thing the DigiDestined had that Puppetmon didn't was friends.

But it wasn't always like that, now was it? He tried to think, but it always hurt his head. At one time, Puppetmon had many friends, not just one. It _started_ with one friend, sure, but then Puppetmon made plenty of friends. Cherrymon and Woodmon and a couple of Palmon, all of them were his friends. Of course, then the dark days came and they all vanished, except Cherrymon. Then Cherrymon became one of Puppetmon's puppets rather than his friend.

Because friends never stayed long. Friends always left. They always died. They made Puppetmon feel alone, because he _was_ alone. Always alone.

"_Friends_," Puppetmon laughed. Stingmon faltered. "Who cares about friends! Friends say they'll never leave you, but they always do. Beelzemon left me, after all."

"Beelzemon?" Stingmon asked. Ken and Yolei looked at the digimon with a frown.

Puppetmon snickered. "Lord Beelzemon Blast Mode and his band of Behemoth and Berenjena. I waited for him, when he died..." Puppetmon's eyes glazed over as the memories surfaced. "I waited for days in Primary Village. Days turned to weeks, weeks into months. Then it was years before I realized he'd never come back. Because there's nothing called friendship. It's a myth. You can like someone, but it's not worth it— to die for them."

(-'1010201'-)

"_Hey, hey, your name is Ken Ichijouji, right?" said a young girl in Ken's class. They were pretty tiny at the time, before the time of the Digital World or Ryo or Wormmon. He'd been coloring in class, minding his own business, humming a song from some anime he watched on Saturday mornings._

_When the girl spoke, he looked up at her with a small, innocent blink. Giving a shy nod, he said, "Umm... yeah... Why?"_

"_You're the brother of that genius, Sam?"_

_Ken nodded. Finally, a smile broke out over her face, a red tinge brightening her pale cheeks. "Do you wanna be friends, Ken?"_

_Ken again blinked. "Sh—sure!"_

"You can like someone, but it's not worth it— to die for them. To be friends."

"That's not true," Ken whispered, grabbing Stingmon's extended spike. He then wrapped his hands around his partner's hand and brought its quivering skin to his cheek, affectionately holding it there. "So many times I'd befriend people who didn't want to really be friends with me. Sometimes they wanted to get to know me so I'd introduce them to my brother. Then they got close to me because _I _was the genius. It was hard to know who was genuine and who was not, and at times, it was lonely. Sometimes I hated everyone, because no one wanted to love me. Sometimes I swore to myself that not even my parents loved me, because they had Sam, and when they didn't have Sam anymore, I swore they didn't love me because I was a living reminder of the son they'd lost. And when I became a genius like my brother, I thought their love was false, something they only felt because I'd become Sam's echo. Just because no one loves you doesn't mean no one loves me..."

"Shut-up," Puppetmon snapped, launching off Stingmon's shoulder and landing on the concrete in front of him.

Ken's fingers clutched Stingmon's. Expression softening, he went on, "There was a time when I didn't have friends... I didn't want to get hurt. Rejected. Embarrassed. And it's still scary, opening up to people..."

"I said shut-up!" the puppet shouted.

"But I'm glad that I have," he admitted, "I'm glad that I _did_, even to the people I've lost over the years. People who'd died or people who just left... I'm glad I got to know all the people I have, because they've each taught me so many wonderful things I would have never learned if I never took the time, effort, and emotions to get close to people. It took maturity and a lot of growing, but now I know. Friendship _does_ exist, and it _is_ powerful."

"You don't know anything!" Puppetmon howled.

"Kindness to people is what makes me powerful. Friends make me powerful. I am powerful because I never give up on anything or anyone if I can help it. Friends are not a myth, and it's not impossible for you to make them, either! If the Digital Emperor can, so can you!"

"I said SHUT IT!"

Yolei's palm smashed into Ken's nose. Ken flung to the side, hitting the concrete with a loud THUD. He coughed and hacked, grabbing at the blood oozing from his nostrils. Wincing, he looked up at Yolei, whose eyes were wide with shock.

"Ken... Ken, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"I know." Ken hissed in pain as he reached up to rake his fingers along the wound again.

"I don't know what happened," Yolei cried.

"If you're such good friends," Puppetmon snarled, "Then how are you going to kill her to stop her from killing you? Or are you just gonna let yourself die?"

"What do you..." Yolei began, but Ken's lips stopped her mid-sentence. She froze on the spot, taken aback. When Ken pulled away, she opened her mouth to speak, but he rested his index finger on her lips.

"You're wild and unruly," Ken told her, "You're completely uncontrollable and always mad, you never restrain yourself, your eating habits are insultingly bad, you have no manners, you're rude... You're violent and you can be incredibly selfish and petty and judgmental. You're _crazy_, even crazier than me and that's saying something, and you're brash and loud and obnoxious."

Yolei blushed, then glared. "Um, screw you, Ichijouji!"

He smiled, but not angrily or cockily. In fact, it was a sweet smile, and he reached up to entwine his fingers in her hair. "But you're also kind. You always hesitate to kill a digimon, even when your life or the life of someone you care about is in danger, even when that digimon has given you no reason to give it mercy. You're sweet when you don't mean to be. You're filled with so much love, and you're incredibly honest, not only with others but also with yourself. You're strong, and smart, and beautiful. You care about me even when I don't care about myself. You think you're nothing special, that you have to act a certain way in order to get noticed, but to me you're perfect just the way you are. Not without your flaws, but your flaws are what make you such a great person. Your flaws are what make you _you_, what distinguishes what's so great about you. And there's so much greatness, Yolei."

What had been a flush of rage instantly turned into a flush of embarrassment. Yolei's cheeks felt hot against Ken's skin. She bit her bottom lip and looked down. "Ken, is right now really the moment for this?"

Ken laughed. "And even though you boast about yourself all the time, you're so humble when someone _else_ boasts about you."

"I'm not being humble, I just... don't think it's..."

"It's the perfect time for this," he said, kissing her again.

As he pulled away, her eyelids were half-lidded, her lashes fluttering as her shoulders went limp.

"Now don't panic," he said in a soft voice.

"Why would I pan..." and then she must have noticed the strings attached to her hands, because Yolei began panicking. "Oh my God! They're puppet strings! He wrapped PUPPET strings around me! Oh my God, that bastard! WHO DOES THIS SHIT."

Just in time, Ken bucked away from her to avoid a swipe.

"I can't stop myself!" she cried out. "Nonononono, stoppit, hand! Bad hand, bad!"

A wave of wind smashed against Ken's face. He twisted around, trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose and the cuts in his arms from the wind, but he didn't have time. Stingmon cried out his name, but his voice fell on deaf ears.

_(You have no friends..._

How many times had the thought occurred to Ken?)

Yolei slashed at his ribs. He dodged the attack, but the aftershock of wind ripped his feet out from under him.

_(You have no friends..._

How many times had he told himself this?)

He held up his hands barely in time to block a punch that sent him at least several feet back, skidding on the pavement.

_(You have no friends..._

How many times had he grown cold, and bitter, and angry when he thought it?)

"Yolei, you can fight this!" he cried out. _**CRACK**_. Her fist plowed into his cheek.

(_You have no friends..._

How many times had he lashed out because of it?)

"I died being told I had no friends," Puppetmon said, holding out a hand. "And after today, so will you!"

"Don't let him manipulate you!" Stingmon cried out to Yolei, struggling with the strings, trying so hard to stop himself from attacking the both of them. Yolei and Stingmon danced around each other, blocking blows, flurries of movement dashing across Ken's eyes.

"I can't stop it!" Yolei sobbed. A spell of wind pushed Stingmon into a car that burst open in a heap of shrapnel. He grunted, a metal frame protruding from his shoulder.

Ken rushed in his direction. "Stingmon!"

"Stay back!" Stingmon told him, holding out a hand to stop him.

Ken bit down on his tongue, then said, "How can I? I won't let him do this to you two!"

"You have to!" Yolei cried.

Stingmon was crying, too. "We can't let ourselves hurt you... It isn't right!"

"Just run away, Ken!"

Yolei's pleas didn't register. Ken was shaking. He knew Puppetmon had taken control over Yolei the moment she punched his nose. Luckily he didn't think it was broken, but it certainly hurt— and now here he was, trying to avoid the attacks of both his partner and his friend. How could he do this? He couldn't hurt them... anyone but them... no, he was a _Destined_, hurting them or _anyone_ was not an option.

Stingmon echoed Yolei's request. "Get away from us!"

"Please!"

_I can't..._ Ken was sinking down into himself, remembering the little girl at the coloring table. She wasn't genuine. None of the people were. Sometimes there were one or two who really were nice, but they faded with time, their faces blurring together. Even Ryo left forever, never to return. None of them stayed.

Until Wormmon.

Then came Davis, and Yolei, and soon afterward Kari, who'd gone through almost the same thing as Ken, then TK and Cody followed not long after Kari. Ken had never felt so loved, so wanted, so _needed_ his entire life. He'd mended his past with his parents. Now they were supportive, kind; they'd seen the way they mistreated him and cleared up all the misconceptions he'd had of their love. He realized they loved him for _him_, not because of what fame he could give them, what press and awards he'd garnered for their recognition.

Even now, when he'd given up trying to impress them, no longer bringing home the best of the best, they still loved him through everything.

Their love, and the love of his friends, was unconditional.

_I can't,_ he repeated, looking at his hands. _I _**won't**.

"Not until I've saved you," Ken said, peering up at them.

Yolei shook her head. "I've already lost Hawkmon today... He might be gone forever... I... I can't lose you, too!"

"You won't," he promised.

"Yes, you won't," Puppetmon agreed, standing from his spot on Stingmon's shoulder, where he'd placed himself once again. "Because," he continued, "_He_ will kill _you_."

And that was when Puppetmon's strings burrowed deep inside Ken's veins.

(-'1010210'-)

_Puppetmon was breathing hard, panting, bruised and beaten and frustrated. He couldn't understand why he was so weak... Even though he was a mega, he had trouble beating just a damn champion! Soon, the wooden digimon decided to give up and plopped down in the mud, staring up above the canopy to the blue skies._

_Such a pretty day. Too pretty to die. But he'd die anyway. What was keeping him here anyway?_

_He must have lied there for at least twenty minutes before someone passed by him and spoke. "Hey there, little guy," the voice said, "Are you okay?"_

"_Go away," Puppetmon said stubbornly._

"_I have food."_

_Puppetmon sat up in an instant, peering at the speaker. He didn't look for many specific details. The guy was pale pink— definitely an angel type, much to Puppetmon's chagrin— he was massive, Leporidae-type; pink, white, and yellow gleamed in the sunlight as he neared Puppetmon._

_As Puppetmon scrutinized the figure, the figure cracked open a fanged grin. He held out a hand, offering what looked like a loaf of home-baked bread. Puppetmon devoured it in just three big bites._

"_My name is Cherubimon," the digimon said, taking another loaf and tossing it up in the air. Effortlessly, he leaned his head up and caught it in his mouth. Though Puppetmon had thought his own appetite was ravenous, it was nothing compared to the creature's. He went through four loaves of bread, and Puppetmon was full after just one. "Sorry, kid," Cherubimon said with a slight blush and smile. "Guess I eat a lot. But I burn a lot of energy." He patted his belly to emphasize his point. After a moment of silence, he peered curiously at the wooden digimon and asked, "What were you doing over here all by yourself? I mean, not to be condescending or anything. You're a mega digimon, so I'm sure you can take care of yourself."_

"_Of course I can!" Puppetmon jeered at him, turning away with a furious blush. When Cherubimon said nothing in response, Puppetmon blinked down at his gloved hands and said, "Trying to get stronger... I... don't fight well."_

"_Oh." Cherubimon looked up at the sky. "Ohhh!" His face snapped back in Puppetmon's direction. "Well, well! Lucky for you, I'm a general kinda guy, the type who leads legions of digimon into battle! How about I show you how we do things? C'mon, I'll train ya for free!"_

"_I don't know..."  
><em>

"_Oh kid, don't be like that," Cherubimon said with a grin. "Anything's possible. No one's weak under _my _eye."_

_Then Puppetmon paused, realizing something. He shuffled his feet. "You..." He gave a suspicious look up at the angel digimon. "You can't be _**the** _Cherubimon, can you? You know the one..."_

_Cherubimon answered with a grin._

_Ever since, Cherubimon never left Puppetmon's side._

_Years passed. Puppetmon didn't know how many, it'd been too long. Cherubimon was right; under his watchful eye, Puppetmon quickly ascended in the courts as a powerful fighter and one of GuadiAngemon's most respected soldiers, even his right-hand general— even though Puppetmon was a virus instead of a vaccine, and no where near an angel-type like most of Cherubimon's other soldiers, he was well-regarded and few were prejudiced against him._

_It wasn't until _**they **_came around that things changed. Sure, there were enemies. One in particular that rang bad news. _**They **_would have never came if it weren't for _that _enemy. But things weren't _bad _until _**they**_ arrived._

_Oh, how the mighty, how the righteous, how the good fall down._

_Puppetmon had been playing in the fields with Floramon and Palmon. Butterflies fluttered by them. Honeysuckle-scented winds wafted around him. Cherrymon and Woodmon were laughing and joking, scaring passersby by playing devious pranks that made Puppetmon giggle. Blades of grass shined in the evening Sun._

_He knew things had changed when Cherubimon surfaced from the darkness of the forest. Something was different about him, but Puppetmon couldn't fathom what until Cherubimon plunged one of his claws straight through Palmon's neck and sliced off her head. She exploded into data, not given enough time to scream. Puppetmon saw Cherubimon's face through the billowing data as he laughed and took a deep, vexing breath, inhaling her floating data. Floramon tried to run away, but she wasn't fast enough. She, too, was absorbed into Cherubimon's lungs._

_Next came the Woodmon, all of them cut down with a single strike. Cherrymon disappeared in a haze of darkness, but not before Cherubimon blasted off several of his boughs._

_"Cherubimon, stop!" Puppetmon cried, giving Cherrymon just enough time to escape._

_Cherubimon crouched over, holding his chest. He nearly collapsed against the smaller digimon._

"_What's wrong?" Puppetmon's voice was gentle as he leaned over the crumpled digimon. He rested his hand on Cherubimon's shoulder. Was his friend okay? Why was he attacking everyone?_

_Cherubimon began hacking and coughing, clutching wildly at his chest. "It hurts, Puppetmon," he murmured, struggling for air. "It hurts, deep inside." His hand went from his chest to his stomach. "I'm so hungry... _starving_... famished! I can't get enough..."_

"_Okay, I'll go get you some berries. Wait here."_

"_No," Cherubimon ordered. Puppetmon froze in his tracks. "I need something bigger, something stronger," Cherubimon growled, clawing at the ground. "But I can't eat you, can I? No... Not you... not you..."_

_Puppetmon stiffened. Cherubimon considered devouring him, too? Just as he'd devoured Floramon and Palmon and the Woodmon?_

"_You're too precious," Cherubimon whispered, his voice cracking. "What am I doing? No... No, they deserve this. They all deserve this!" He turned to Puppetmon, grabbing him by the face and shaking him. "You believe me, don't you! You believe they deserved it!"_

"_I... I... Cherubimon..."_

"_Will you follow me, no matter where I go or what I do?" Cherubimon asked, quivering, his knees finally breaking beneath him as he sunk to the ground, weeping. "Will you stay by my side?"_

"_I..." Puppetmon hesitated. What was wrong with his friend? He knew things had gotten so terrible lately, but could they really have been this bad? Or maybe Cherubimon was simply hiding his pain inside. He paused again, thinking it through. In his roughest moments, Cherubimon had been there for him every single time. So how could Puppetmon not be there for him during his? "Of course," he finally said, smiling. "Of course I will be, Cherubimon! I'm your friend. You're my best friend. I love you."_

"_Love..." Cherubimon snickered, leaning his forehead against Puppetmon's shoulder. His fur felt cool. Like velvet icy. "What fools we are for love, Puppetmon," he said. "Our love will always lead only to trouble."_

"_What are you...?" Puppetmon was unable to finish his question. At that moment, the snow-cold fur of Cherubimon's face trickled into heat. Then it got hotter, and hotter, until it burned Puppetmon. Puppetmon screamed and pulled away, just in time to witness as Cherubimon's garb burst into blinding white flame._

_There he was, laughing, his hands rising to the skies. "If only I could go to the other world..." Cherubimon said, fingers caressing the outline of the Sun in the sky. "Maybe I could live a peaceful life there, someday... No... I have no chance, no choice." His hand lowered. His fur melted into his skin, reforming, taking a new, sharper shape. His claws turned into firearms clutched tightly in his bandaged fingers. His melted pink fur dulled into a candyfloss blond, while what was once the blue lens of his eyes melted away to reveal the red hue of his eyes. A third eye opened at the center of his forehead._

_What stepped out of the dying flame was not Cherubimon, but another horror even greater. "This is the only way," he said, smiling. "_**The only way to kill them all**_."_

Ken's transformation broke Puppetmon out of his trance.

The way friends change always reminded him of that moment. Maybe that was why Puppetmon did it, why he was so fascinated with turning friends against each other. Breaking up Matt and Tai, forcing them to fight... It was a fun, fun, fun game, just like that day in the woods, the day all his friends died. The day his best friend killed them all, friends that had one time been his, as well.

"Kill me," Ken told Stingmon and Yolei, holding out his hands. "I can't hurt you two. You'll have to kill me! Now!"

"No!" Yolei screamed.

"Never!" Stingmon agreed.

Puppetmon chuckled. He flicked his wrist.

Ken surged toward Yolei, hands arched to wrap around her throat. With a _**SNAP**_, they found their target, pressing hard against it. Yolei seized up, crying, trying to hold back the tears so unsuccessfully.

"Ken... you can fight this..." she whispered, trying to reach up to touch him, but Puppetmon cracked her arms back down to her sides. "Ken..."

"YOU CAN'T CHANGE WHO YOU ARE, KENNY-BOY," Puppetmon belted.

"I'm so sorry," he was muttering, bowing his head, shaking.

"You're quiet and silly," she choked out. "Even though you have the IQ of a genius, you're ignorant of social interactions and cues. You never speak your mind so no one knows what your true feelings are. You're always sacrificing your needs for others, because you're a doormat sometimes."

"Okay," Ken frowned. "I want to say you're making this easier, but you're not."

She grinned and gave a rough, strangled laugh that made both Ken and Stingmon wince. "But you're beautiful, too, you know. Not just physically. You're gentle. You're patient, because you've learned from your own experience that patience is valued. People were patient and understanding of you when you needed them to be and that meant so much to you. You appreciate everything. You're thankful for the tiniest, silliest things— you 'stop to smell the flowers', cliché as it sounds. You have a great heart that is accepting of even the most gruesome people, because you know from experience that people can change, that certain events and circumstances can cause a person to not act the best they can be. You're never petty or condescending – at least nowadays, hahah! – and you're thoughtful. You still worry about not being good enough, or think that you deserve being mistreated, because of your wrongdoings. You're always sorry for the bad things, just like you're always thankful for the good.

"And you never believe in your best qualities. You said one of my good qualities is honesty, so believe in me." Her fingers twitched. Puppetmon frowned. She reached up, linking her fingers in his, able to edge them away from her neck. Smiling, tears spilling, she continued, "You never believe you can combat the things you can. This won't beat you. That's impossible, because you're Ken Ichijouji. _My _Ken Ichijouji."

"Yolei..."

And suddenly, Ken wasn't shaking anymore.

Puppetmon's fingers moved furiously, but instead of being pulled from Ken, Yolei leaned forward, unwrapped her fingers from his hands, and cupped his cheeks between her palms. Closing her eyes, Yolei kissed him.

"No," Puppetmon growled, yanking back his elbow, but still nothing happened. "Listen to me!"

But Yolei hadn't budged an inch.

"You're right," she said to Ken after she pulled away. "This is the perfect time."

Ken's hands began to glow a bright green light. Heat permeated from them. A light breeze whirled around them from Yolei, her purple hair weaving through the wind and grazing his cheek. Within seconds, vines burst from Ken's palms, entwining the two of them, blue and gray and purple flowers blossoming as petals were swept up in the billowing winds.

He was as red as a cherry, but smiling. Stingmon sniffled. Puppetmon groused.

"You're right, too," Ken told Yolei. The strings connected to his veins went slack. Puppetmon howled in outrage, trying to pull him away, but Ken turned in his direction and pointed his palm at the wooden digimon.

"All my life," Ken said, the glowing green light filtering his face, his arms, his legs. Vines sprouted from the cracked concrete, unfurling like whips around him. Puppetmon found himself surrounded by a pulsing, thriving forest, thrumming from this simple, human boy. "All of it," he went on, "I've been a slave to darkness, allowing it to control me, to make a puppet out of me. This time will be different. This time, I won't be a pawn in its game!"

And the green light burst from him. The flora erupted all around Puppetmon, poring into him, ripping open his limbs, his chest, his back, his legs, beckoning him on his knees. Blossoms sprouted along his cheeks, sand unfurling from the concrete beneath his knees. A butterfly fluttered across his sight, smelling of honeysuckle.

"No..." Puppetmon muttered, quivering. "No, not like this!" he screamed as the vines rushed through him, filling him. "I can't die again! Not before seeing him! Not before Beelzemon is back!"

_I swore I would see him again..._ Puppetmon whispered to himself, watching as the gloved hands risen toward the sky burst into white bytes of data. _I promised I'd watch him descend from the heavens... I promised... I'd meet that child..._

_That child of his who meant so much to him..._

_I..._

_...wish I'd had friends..._

(_"We are such fools for love," Cherubimon says_)

And then he, like the teeming forest around him, burst into data.

(-'**10201100**'-)

**Preview for Next Chapter:**

-"Get away from me. Something... inside of me... is trying to get out..." "What?" "You never listen! I said GO."

-_If only I'd been stronger..._ _Then maybe I could have stopped this from happening, stopped it by killing him six months ago instead of giving him mercy. I thought that was what my grandfather would have wanted, until he killed my grandfather._

-"Ah, there you are, squirt. Was wondering if I'd have another opportunity to kill someone else you love."

Tune in next time to **Lighthouse Session VII: The Cataclysm of the Lost Child**!


	8. I&VIII: The Cataclysm of the Lost Child

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Theme:** "Colors" by Crossfade

**Author's Note:** While the story definitely takes a spin of its own, Cody's storyline is influenced by Silver1's Crystal Digimon Saga. :) Check it out, it's a great series.

(-'010102000'-)

"Aeneas carried his aged father on his back from the ruins of Troy and so do we all, whether we like it or not, perhaps even if we have never known them."

—Angela Carter

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session VIII**

... Part IV: The Cataclysm of the Lost Child ...

_It was raining when they buried Hiroki Hida. Cody reached out to grasp his mother's hand, but she pulled away as soon as his cold skin grazed hers. The pitter-patter drizzling down around them muted the sniffles that surrounded the body of Cody's father. For a moment, if not for the preacher droning on, Cody would have thought he was alone with his father. One last moment, just the two of them._

_And in that moment – that moment only – Cody allowed the emotions to overflow within him. Pain. Misery. Fury. Denial. Misunderstanding things that seemed so obvious up close but grew blurry with every passing second. He swore that for the first and last time involving his father's passing, he would let the rain mute his tears, too._

_For just this moment, he would let himself feel everything at once, and never forget the hatred it caused, a hatred which weighed him down until he could hardly breathe._

(-'10201012'-)

Joe was between battling Mara for survival and battling Mimi for his glasses. The Crest Wielder of Purity had stolen them right off his face and was now rushing behind the opponent, doggedly dodging Joe's flailing attempts at retrieving them. Every time Mara moved, Mimi used her as a shield against Joe.

Mara was honestly bewildered on what in hell they were doing.

"Who's your cute lil chef, Joe, huh? Who's your beautiful, sexy, smart cook with a goddess-like voice?"

"Mimi, now really isn't the time!"

"That's not what you said last night!"

"I thought you didn't remember last night!"

"Umm...I... Uhh..."

"ENOUGH," Mara howled, blasting Mimi into Joe. They flung through the air, flopping right on top of a recovering Izzy. Mimi, who was the white center in the Oreo cookie of limbs, rolled over and pushed Joe off of her.

"God, you two are perverted," she muttered, jumping off of Izzy, who blushed. "Tryna cop a feel!"

"I don't think we really had an _option_," Izzy said, still reddening, now frowning. "It wasn't like it was _intentional._"

"It wasn't intentional you wanted to cop a feel of this?" She made a suggestive motion beginning from her upper-torso to her lower-hips. "What do you think?" She looked at Mara, who halted mid-step in her journey toward Garurumon. "They're a pair of straight— well, at least _bi_sexual— males and I'm... well, hahah, I'm Mimi freakin' Tachikawa! You think they weren't trying to get all raunchy up in this?"

She again made the suggestive motion.

Mara blinked once, twice. She then said, "It was _definitely_ intentional."

"See!" Mimi pointed accusingly at them. "PEEEEERVS. Even creepy evil no-sense-making lady agrees! ...Wait."

"_Really_, Mimi? Right now?" Matt called out over the din, avoiding a punch from the enemy. She swung, catching his jaw in an upper-cut, forcing him through a wall. He grunted as he landed hard on his back, coughing, the breath knocked out of him. Sora called out his name, but wasn't able to make it there before the woman grabbed her by the throat and tossed her into Garurumon.

Mara swiftly turned on her heel to bolt toward the door, motioning to grab where Gatomon had been standing two seconds before. However, when she grasped nothing but air, she twisted behind her to see the knowing grin of dear, dear Mimi. "_You_."

"I'm such a clever cutie," she said, framing her face with her hands, then giving a low bow. "Feel free to compliment me on such an _adorable _distraction. I would!"

"Where'd she go?" Mara hissed, grabbing Mimi by the neck and slamming her into a wall, pinning her.

Mimi gave a strangled cry, her legs kicking aimlessly through the air. She couldn't breathe, much less speak!

"Oh, I'm sorry, maybe you need some _motivation,_" Mara snarled, dragging her over to the hole in the side of the building where she chucked Ikkakumon and Togemon. There, she dangled Mimi over thin air. Mimi yelped, but Mara didn't let up. "I wonder if a human can survive this drop. Sure, your partner did. But she's a digimon. Maybe we should see the differences between human and Togemon anatomy, hm?"

"Mimi!" cried out Joe and Izzy at the same time. Sora and Matt groggily stumbled around, trying to stand and help, but were unable to clear the fuzzy feeling in their heads.

"NEEDLE SPRAY."

A hailstorm of cactus needles struck Mara in the back. She released Mimi in a yelp of pain.

Sora managed to choke out, "Birdramon!"

The bird digimon hardly needed the order before she flung herself out into the sky, through the hole, and caught Mimi on her back. Mimi clung to Birdramon's feathers, hair flailing wildly in the wind, her head bobbing hard against the bird digimon's flapping shoulder blades.

As Mimi clung to her best friend's partner, she managed to see it, just a small white speck rushing through the bedim of people and chaos:

Gatomon.

_She got out safely,_ Mimi thought with a tired smile, reaching up to touch her neck. She hissed as a sharp sting traveled down her esophagus. _But I'm not so safe._

_None of us are._

"C'mon, sweetheart, time to reel it in!" said Mara, reaching out her hands toward Birdramon and Mimi. Mimi squeezed her eyes shut, ready for the stream of energy to hit them at breakneck speed.

But it wasn't energy that struck them.

Instead, it was a throng of hot, sizzling sand. Confused, Mimi opened her eyes to see that Mara's arms themselves were no longer flesh and blood and bone, but living, moving serpents of sand that oozed buckets of golden grains. One of those serpents hurtled through the air and wrapped around Mimi and Birdramon, sucking them back into the flat.

(-'10203021'-)

"Yolei..."

Ken collapsed to his knees, Yolei just barely catching him. He bowed his head. Even though Puppetmon had been defeated, he was still shaking, still scared, but he couldn't figure out why. Something about Puppetmon had given him the chills, something beyond the fact that Puppetmon had been somewhat similar to him. Maybe it was the mega digimon's past, maybe it stemmed deeper than that.

There was a voice inside of him whispering in his ear, but he couldn't tell what it was saying. No, the shaking started even before Puppetmon. It began with Etemon.

_Something inside of me is angry,_ Ken thought, clutching his chest.

"Are you okay?" Yolei whispered, searching his gaze for something that wasn't there.

"I'm..." He wanted to say "okay", but at that moment a cutting pang jolted through his chest. He gagged, bending over.

"Ken!"

"Get away from me," Ken hissed, clutching frantically at the ground. "Something... inside of me... is trying to get out..."

"What?" Yolei didn't release him. Instead, she got closer.

"You never listen!" he snapped, shoving her away. "I said GO."

"You're right, I don't listen, and that's one of the things you like about me so no, I won't go!" she snapped back at him, grabbing him by the shoulders. "What do you mean 'something' inside of you is trying to get out? Is that some poetic way of saying you have to puke, or like go to the bathroom or something? Ken, it's okay, I'm here, I'll always be here... I won't judge you for your gross potty habits..."

"No." Ken's palms hit the ground with enough force to shatter the concrete. Yolei squeaked, just barely adding her own force in order to avoid getting injured. "It... It wants everything... It wants it _all_..." Finally, his gaze connected with hers. "...It wants me to kill you, too."

"Is it the Dark Spore?"

"No," Ken hissed, grabbing his chest again. "It's deeper than that. Way deeper. It's the reason why the Dark Spore chose me instead of... instead of _him_, instead of Ryo even though _he_ was the one the Dark Spore was intended for... I thought I received the Dark Spore purely on accident, but this feeling... it was no accident... I was _chosen_, not a _sacrifice_... It's because of what's inside me... Something that's been inside of me since I was born... something ancient... something _evil_."

Yolei's quivering fingers grazed his cheek.

"YOLEI, MOVE," came a voice behind her, Ken, and Stingmon. All three of them leaped in surprise and twisted around just in time to see Cody and Armadillomon running in their direction, Cody's hand reaching out for her.

But it was too late.

"GIGA ICE BLAST."

Yolei was blasted back by a massive blue ball of energy and ice.

(-'10101912'-)

_It was stifling hot. Sweat ran in gobs down Cody's brow. His shirt stuck to his back and he had to peel the irritating cotton off his soaked shoulder blades. It didn't help that he was wearing black clothing on an incredibly sweltering day with the sunshine poring from the atmosphere. His only luck was a distinct lack of clouds that stunted any attempts at humidity._

_Today there was plenty of water vapor to go around without rain._

_Beside him, his mother's sniffles caught his attention. He gently entwined his fingers with hers. She paused, her voice caught in her throat, then pulled her hand away to blow her nose. When she finished, she cupped her hands in her lap, away from her son's. Even in the blistering heat, Cody's fingers felt cold without his mother's touch._

_Cody watched as they lowered Grandfather Chikara Hida's coffin into the ground. The sunlight glinted off the willow surface, giving off a rainbow array of color._

_His only solace was a hand that reached up from behind him and clamped down on his shoulder. He didn't need to turn around to know whose hand it was. He already knew it was the purple-haired girl who always gave him an encouraging smile, even when he felt like the world's biggest coward._

(-'2030102'-)

"Yolei..." Cody whispered, there just a moment too late.

Yolei rolled several times over, cracks and pops rattling through her body, before she landed in a mangled heap beside her partner's unconscious body. She muttered two unintelligible words, then she, too, fell unconscious.

His footsteps slowed the closer he approached until he found himself less than a foot from her marred, unconscious body. Ken was unable to stand. He, too, fell unconscious, grasping desperately at his chest, shrilly crying out in a language Cody didn't understand. Stingmon tried to reason with him, but when all logic failed, he settled for setting Ken's head on his lap as he stroked his partner's hair.

Cody fell to his knees beside Yolei, hands shaking as he rested them against her face. "Yolei... this is all my fault..."

_If only I was stronger— like Davis or TK or Kari... Like my forefathers,_ he thought, peering up at her attacker. Hit from behind, distracted by Ken, she hadn't suspected a thing. _Then maybe I could have stopped this from happening, stopped it by killing him six months ago instead of giving him mercy._

_I thought that was what my grandfather would have wanted, until he killed my grandfather._

MetalSeadramon had torn apart the entire city road leading toward them, filling it with the nearby shore's water. Sand and seaweed filtered through the sewers, exploding from beneath the ground, creating a new sea where once there was land. The entire time, he was laughing, throwing his head back in loud, obnoxious cackles.

"_Never forget..."_ his grandfather had said the day of his death, _"...who you are, my adorable grandson."_

And now his passivity had taken someone else he loved. Yolei was still alive, but for how long? Humans weren't meant to be attacked like this. Even with this new evolution, how much could their frail bodies take? Cody bowed his head, feeling a stinging sensation in his eyes. His vision blurred. His hand grasped the handle of the Dynasty Blade, sheathed at his side.

"Cody?" Armadillomon rested a paw on his shoulder.

"It's time we end this," Cody growled, standing. "I won't let him hurt anyone else. Not this time. Armadillomon, armor digivolve!"

A golden light encased the rookie digimon in a warm glow that illuminated the darkness of Cody's face. As the egg shattered around the emerging Submarimon, Cody converged upon MetalSeadramon.

"Ah, there you are, squirt!" MetalSeadramon said to him, crouching down so that his face loomed right above the human boy's head. "I was wondering if I'd have another opportunity to kill someone you love."

Cody popped open Submarimon's glass globe and stood on the seat, looking up at the serpentine behemoth.

"Just like I was wondering if I'd have another opportunity to kill you," he said, sliding the Dynasty Blade out of its scabbard. The metal screeching against the sheathe rung in Cody's ears, like his grandfather's cry, like the sound of Yolei's bones cracking against the ground.

Justice would be served.

He remembered six months ago. How long ago it seemed now, perhaps, but that one moment still stung like a fresh wound every single day, and every single night in his dreams. Too many times he remembered it. It wouldn't leave him alone, and he doubted it ever would.

Six months ago, the heavens cried above him, the aether's tears running down his face and soaking his clothes. He, Submarimon, his grandfather Chikara, and Chikara's partner had pierced the heart of MetalSeadramon's chrome digizoid. It took hours to do, and so much work, and it was so painful to finally summon the strength and versatility to deal the coup de grace, but eventually the tour de force he and his grandfather forged had prevailed. A sense of accomplishment overflowed him, and having done it side-by-side with his grandfather certainly added to that feeling.

"_Please!"_ MetalSeadramon begged, hunched over in the water, his tail squirming, his head flailing. _"Please, don't kill me! I don't want to die... not here... not in this world, where I can never be reformatted! Please... I wasn't always an evil digimon... At one time, I had a family, an entire empire! At one time, I had a clan... My most loved clan..._

"_..Until the Demon Lord Leviamon took them from me..._

"_Please, everything I've done was to avenge them the only way I saw how: To take over the world and use those resources as a means of finding Leviamon once again— to find him, and destroy him, once and for all, using the legions I'd utilized to find him in the first place. You don't understand... the power of the Demon Lords is immense, it will take more than an entire world just to take down a single one of them! I had to do this! Don't kill me. Please, I have to serve justice to the evil digimon who wronged me!_

"_I miss them... I miss them so badly that sometimes I want to die... But I can't. Not until I avenge them. My brothers and sisters, my cousins and aunts and uncles... My Mother... My Father. All of them, dead!"_

_Dad..._ Oh, how that had struck a chord in Cody. The sobbing digimon curled into a ball.

"_Leave..."_ Cody told him, staring down at his crippled body. _"Don't come back here."_

How wrong had he been to never deliver the finishing blow.

As soon as he turned his back, MetalSeadramon launched one final attack. It hailed from the heavens like the beating rain, but it never struck him. Instead, his grandfather jumped in the way, taking the brunt of it, body convulsing against the force of the attack. Cody cried out for him, but his voice fell on deaf ears.

His grandfather had been taken from him before either of them could even say goodbye. He'd died the way he lived. He'd died the same way his son had. Sacrificing himself for somebody else.

"And you want to know the irony?" MetalSeadramon cooed, leaning forward, his eyes glinting harshly against the light of the vortex.

"No," Cody said, expression without meaning, without emphasis. "I want to know _justice._"

_**CLANK**_

The Dynasty Blade clashed against MetalSeadramon's armor and let out a high-pitched shriek. A rattle rumbled down the sword's thick metal and reverberated in Cody's arms. Clenching his teeth in a wince, Cody thrust the sword above his head, prepared to plunge it past the metal to the beast beneath.

"You spared me because I lost my father to Leviamon," MetalSeadramon said, "But the truth is..." He gurgled. "..._Leviamon lost his father to _**me**_."_

And MetalSeadramon's jaws unhinged, his teeth clamping down upon Cody and Submarimon, swallowing them both whole.

(-'1010201'-)

_Lost..._

_So lost..._

_What could he do? He had his mother, but she was gone, too... Lost in the world of sadness, of tragedy... The only person in her world was her son, yet that wasn't enough to bring her out of the crippling darkness she'd found herself in... Cody was alone... always alone..._

_Just like he had been when his father died..._

_Those three years he'd spent in complete isolation. The pain he'd felt. The misery and memories that coincided with every agonizing moment, the pain that never seemed to fully heal._

_Cody saw himself at his father's shrine. Staring at a picture of his father and Oikawa, Cody bowed down in respect._

Crack

_What was that noise?_

Crack crack

_He peered up._

_There he saw it. There were spiderweb lines chinking the glass of the picture frame._

_Cody's fingers reached out to touch it, but just as his flesh grazed the glass, it shattered at his touch._

_The pain that came from the glass piercing skin _jolted him out of his thoughts, awakening him to the dark world inside of MetalSeadramon's mouth.

"Cody!" cried Submarimon. Cody nodded and climbed inside of the submissile digimon, stowing away until he could come up with an acceptable plan. Submarimon fired off several missiles inside MetalSeadramon's jaws, detonating, but the digimon didn't even flinch. The muscles didn't constrict; there was no strain. It was obvious it'd done nothing to mar the digimon. The only reaction Cody saw was his tongue trying to force them deeper inside his gullet.

"Submarimon, I need you to de-digivolve!" Cody shouted.

"What? Are you nuts? We'll drown!"

"Then get closer to his jaws!"

Submarimon did as Cody asked. As they scaled the walls of MetalSeadramon's jowls, Submarimon de-digivolved. Quickly, Cody got out his D3 and summoned Digmon to the front.

Before MetalSeadramon could drag them deeper inside his mouth's depths, Digmon shouted his attack and drilled straight into the soft underbelly of MetalSeadramon's tongue.

Cody still had the Dynasty Blade. Though he was surrounded by complete darkness, he ran his fingers up the side of the blade, feeling along the thin edges. Still cutting to the touch. He closed his eyes, concentrating.

There was a reason he inherited the DigiEgg of Knowledge. There had to be some way out of this mess.

And almost immediately, it came to him. So easy, why hadn't he thought of it before? After all, MetalSeadramon's mouth really wasn't encased by chrome digizoid like the rest of him, even if Submarimon's missiles hadn't done much. But then again, Submarimon and MetalSeadramon were the same digimon type, and not only that, but Submarimon was a mere armor digimon against the power of a mega— and not just any mega, but a _Dark Master_.

This new evolution had to be good for something.

This "Enigma"...

Cody thought about his grandfather's smiling face, how he'd talk about prune juice at the oddest moments, or how much he cared about Cody's father. Cody thought about his father's courage, his father's strength, how anyone could rely on Hiroki. He thought about Oikawa dying in his arms. Chikara dying in his arms. Yolei falling unconscious in his arms.

And the thought that made his stomach curl up inside itself— the thought of Armadillomon dying, too, right in his arms.

MetalSeadramon had done this to him. MetalSeadramon had lied, had _begged_, and taken advantage of Cody's kindness. No more. MetalSeadramon did not _deserve_ mercy, none of them did! None of these pathetic, evil digimon deserved respect, deserved second chances, deserved anything but the justice Cody would doll out with an iron hand! He would not be trifled with, he would not be defied!

Cody would kill them all, because they were all responsible for the death of his grandfather! For the death of his father! For the death of Oikawa!

When he opened his eyes again, he saw a tan glow illuminate the Dynasty Blade.

The blade of his forefathers, of the head of the Hida Clan.

His ancestors glowed inside of it, calling to him, telling him to use their power, to claim his rightful revenge.

"Digmon," Cody called out. Without any other words, Digmon placed Cody on his arm and, not a second later, Digmon chucked Cody in the air.

Twisting the blade between his fingers, hundreds of diamond spikes jutted out the blade. A hundred more paper-thin blades resonated from his hands, colliding with the roof of MetalSeadramon's mouth. With a howl, Cody approached the dented jowls of his enemy and sliced his massive, diamond-glinting blade straight through with ease.

A deafening scream rattled MetalSeadramon's tonsils. Cody didn't stop there— using the sword as a hook, he planted his heels on the roof of MetalSeadramon's mouth, plunged another hook-shaped rock he'd summoned into the gums, and yanked out his sword. With a grunt, he tore through MetalSeadramon's mouth, stabbing until blood and sunlight graced his face.

_**I AM EARTH...**_ he howled, stabbing the Dynasty Blade through one last time as his hand clawed at clean air. **_...EVEN CHROME DIGIZOID IS NO MATCH._**

"YOU LITTLE SHITHEAD," MetalSeadramon screeched, shaking his head in an attempt to fling Cody off of him. By opening his mouth to speak, Digmon was able to free himself, sending a hailstorm of drills into MetalSeadramon's exposed wounds from Cody's attack. "YOU THINK I'LL LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS?"

"I... WILL... HAVE... _**JUSTICE**_."

Cody's blade exploded into a near-living creature of undiluted, inseparable brown energy that crackled in his grasp. It was earth, it was diamond, it was stone and mineral. Slamming it into the corner of MetalSeadramon's lip, he ran along the side of the digimon's head, dragging it all the way through, until he reached the crown of Metal Seadramon's head. There, he wrenched it out of its trail and – lengthening it – he plunged it deep inside the digimon's brain.

MetalSeadramon screamed.

With a howl of his own, Cody hitched back his elbows, yanked out the blade, and finished his trail as he reached the other half of MetalSeadramon's throat. Then, panting, Cody lifted his foot, pulled back his knee for momentum, and smashed his boot right above the bloody broken sword trail.

With the final hit, the energy burst all around Cody in a massive, thirty-foot-tall crocodile shape whose jaws clamped down on MetalSeadramon's head.

Still screaming, MetalSeadramon's head flopped off his body, leaving it a flailing, whipping mess, dragging down structures and roads and rivers in its trail. As Cody hopped off just in time, Digmon caught him.

"You..." MetalSeadramon's severed head growled. Blood and water seeped from the corner of his mouth, pooling beside his cheek. His voice gurgled against the spitting blood. "I never thought... _**glp, grk**_... I'd find a human like you... _**glp, glp.**_ Brutal... _merciless._"

"Mercy?" Cody leaned forward, dipping his fingers in MetalSeadramon's blood. "Mercy would be killing you right now." He flicked off the blood and sighed, smearing it on his trousers. "As it is, though," he continued, "I would rather watch you die slowly, screaming."

"Cody," Digmon whispered, but he said nothing else.

MetalSeadramon's body began to slowly, over a long time, dissolve. As his head screamed.

And Cody felt nothing at all, not sadistic glee, not sadness or anger, not relief. Not even closure.

Just nothing.

(-'**1010201**'-)

Next Chapter Preview:

-"I've come to collect you, Devimon."

-"I'll kill you. For Kari. For Gatomon. For Cody. Wizardmon and Oikawa. You took people important to them and destroyed them. You'll pay for it all."

-"Devimon...?" "Shh. Sleep while you're allowed, you buffoon."

-"You... looked as though you were crying... Was it for me, those tears?"

-"I know the soul of Heaven's Gate, the power of healing and destruction in a single being. I have experienced more than you can comprehend, child. I was Ophanimon's prince. Her general. Her protector. I loved her. Now I'm like you, Devil King. Gone." "I'm not gone. The Devil King is right here, _at last_. RAZOR WING." "CRIMSON LIGHTNING."

-_**"BUT YOU SAID YOU WOULD FOLLOW ME... YOU SAID YOU'D BE THERE... TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD... EVEN IF YOU HAD TO SELL YOUR SOUL... YOU WOULD FOLLOW ME."**_

-"Don't go! We can fight this together! You don't... you don't have to be alone..."

-_**"DEVIMON!"**_

Next Chapter: **Lighthouse Act I Session IX Part V: Bow to the Devil King**


	9. I&IX: Bow to the Devil King

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Devils Never Cry" by David Baker and Shawn McPherson

(-'010102000'-)

"Oh boy! There's nobody left! What will we do, Patamon?"

—TK

"Now to get rid of you, and I'll have nothing to fear. They say the smallest will destroy me. I'm not going to let that happen."

—Devimon

_Digimon Adventure Dubbed Episode 13: Legend of the DigiDestined_

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session IX**

... Part V: Bow to the Devil King ...

_The World of Darkness. A chasm of rotting carcasses and blood-ridden oceans. They said the waters were dark because of the Dreamless Dreamer's blood, that the ichor of his godly veins bled into the waters and tainted them into their black abyss. He rested in the dead R'lyeh at the center of the world, waiting, lingering, looming until the day came that he would be awakened._

_When Devimon died, it was not often that he ventured away from the broken gates of R'lyeh. There was not much else to see. Just a world that was not made of earth or water or wind or tree, but instead rot, blood, dying demon breath and pillars formed by flesh and memory. It was a wretched, miserable world._

_It was here that Devimon landed when he was cast from the depths of the Digital World. All evil digimon were sent here when they died, so that their data could be used to create more Nightmare Soldiers. Digimon spoke of a demon slumbering in the depths of the ocean, whose ichor tainted its waters— it was this demon who pulled evil digimon deep into this world, whose evil was so alluring that his mere existence sucked the good out of them so that they _**wish**_ to be reborn in the darkness. They said that for every time a being is born in the World of Darkness, they are born ten times stronger than they ever were in the Digital World. Every digimon is hatched with a bit of evil in their souls, and it is this evil which the Dark Ocean swells, reborns into a new Nightmare Soldier._

_Devimon was too strong for the process. He would not let his data be reconstructed into a stronger, greater being. He would not allow himself to join the pits of bodies and data that filled this chaotic world. He had too much to do. He did not have time to lie around like these worthless carcasses did._

_So he guarded the bloody gates of R'lyeh, city of the seas, the resting place – no, the sanctum – no, the prison – of the Dreamless Dreamer— a god to some, a demon to others. The ocean of shadow and gore bubbled and whirled around Devimon's tremendous body, sinking deep into his pores and thriving in his veins. The blood of a sinful god._

_When Devimon thought about it, the Dreamless Dreamer was the only one he really had left in this world. Well, out of the digimon he could possibly care about, or the ones who could benefit him. The Dreamless Dreamer would not always be trapped in this infernal gateway. There would come a time that he would rise, and Devimon would rise with him. Then Devimon could finally return to the Digital World and carve in it an acceptable empire for himself._

_Soon, he became the Gate Keeper to the wandering virus digimon who ventured near their depths. Time and time again their bodies laid slain, bobbing to the surface of the Dark Ocean. Their souls could rest in the ghost breath atmosphere of the Dark World. Devimon was unbeatable, uncontrollable. Not even Chimeramon or the Emperor could contain him. And when time came for his release from Chimeramon's data, here he found himself again, at the gates of hell. The Dreamless Dreamer's Hell._

_A gate whose lock separated the World of Darkness from the World of Data. If the stars aligned and he could scavenge the Necronomicon from Witchelny, maybe he'd have a chance of returning._

"_Devimon."_

Of course,_ Devimon thought with a soft chuckle at himself. _I'm not the only demon with that idea.

"_Wondered if I'd see you here," Devimon said, turning toward the voice. Ah, his oldest, dearest friend. They grew up together as Patamon. Eventually, Devimon and he digivolved into Angemon, as close as could be, like brothers really. Then he digivolved into MagnaAngemon, then Seraphimon, while Devimon remained a champion. Then they were no longer friends – brothers – but lord and general, God and Angel, master and servant... master and _slave._ And now, here they were, all these years later. Devimon and his fallen friend, Gatekeeper and Demon Lord. How times changed._

_The fallen Seraphimon stared Devimon in the eye, silent. His expression was hidden by the darkness cast from his red hood, connected to a red cloak. What was he hoping to hide underneath there? Devimon's old master was always so much more intimidating when he wasn't wearing that stuffy old robe._

_When the silence continued, Devimon said, "What? Do you expect me to bow? You abandoned me, old friend. You left me to weather the ramifications of our actions by myself. Now I take your orders no longer."_

"_You won't bow to me?" the fallen Seraphimon laughed. "My once most faithful servant, my greatest general— have you grown so arrogant?"_

"_I have grown wise."_

"_And yet you arrived in this world just as I have." As the fallen Seraphimon spoke, Devimon winced. It was true. If they were both in this world now, it meant they'd perished— or perhaps his old friend had found a different way inside? After all, the Dreamless Dreamer never died. He was one of the few of his kind to survive, to thrive, even if it meant sealing himself away in the process._

_When Devimon peered behind the red-cloaked demon, he saw other figures lurking, as well._

"_I've come to collect you, Devimon," his old master went on._

_There they all were, the elite of the old Demon Lords. The greatest, the best generals, the ones who changed everything._

_The Dark Masters. Etemon. _Myotismon_. Even the dear virgin Moon Goddess, the Lust Lord's favorite. All that was missing were a few more Olympian Gods... But they would arrive eventually, revived... Maybe not by the fallen Seraphimon's side, but they would come. The best and the worst, the most fearful and the most fearless. The ones who rebelled and the ones who followed._

"_You can't stop them," Myotismon said with his smooth, suave voice, something that reminded Devimon of spun silk and satin. Myotismon was holding a wine glass filled with garnet-colored blood, one of his arms crossed over his chest, opposing elbow tucked in its crook. "It's time," Myotismon continued, "The Golden Age will return."_

"_You will bow," said Devimon's old master. Holding out a palm, Devimon felt a dark power wash over him, a power even greater and darker than his own. Devimon's knees wobbled beneath him. No, he wouldn't bow— after all this time, after all this effort, after all this pain— he could not falter now, not when he was about to ascend on his own. Sensing Devimon's resistance, the fallen Seraphimon smiled through the darkness. "You will bow, Devil King, so that the world may bow to you, you who bows to only me._

"_My most faithful servant, my greatest general, my right-hand and protector, my old brother, it is time! Time for the Demon Lords to rise again and, together, take back what was stolen from us all!"_

"Devimon, MOVE."

Patamon rolled on the ground as Myotismon's attack struck him full force. Crying out, TK managed to catch him. Myotismon threw his head back in a high-pitched cackle as Patamon took the hit for his former killer, his former oppressor, great and evil Devimon, the Devil King.

Devimon watched with eyes slowly widening.

"Patamon!" TK cradled the rookie digimon in his arms. As Patamon fainted, TK glared up at Myotismon, tears filling and falling from his eyes. "You should be dead."

"I will never die, boy!" Myotismon cackled. "You have killed me thrice times and yet I still live! That is the power of the King of the Undead!"

"You'll regret it," TK whispered, gingerly lying Patamon on the concrete. His fingers caressed the digimon's cheek before his gaze sifted back toward Myotismon. "I'll make you wish you didn't come back."

"You go right ahead and try," Myotismon replied with a crinkled nose.

TK let out a guttural scream, yellow light spluttering all around him. Beside Myotismon, a building cleaved in half from some unseeable force. Myotismon ducked, dodging a piece of flinging shrapnel, and whipped in TK's direction. The golden electrical currents tore into the concrete, entrenching them with a brilliant glow that barreled in Myotismon's direction. Myotismon carelessly knocked it aside without effort and grabbed TK by the throat. He winced.

"That light wasn't your true ability," Myotismon hissed, slamming TK into the ground. A crater exploded beneath him, spewing dirt and concrete. TK winced, closing one eye to avoid cement splinters. "That was the aftershock. Just now, I could feel it, flowing through my veins... What is it, boy? What is your power?"

Myotismon's fingers were clenched so tightly around TK's throat that he was unable to answer. Myotismon growled and thrust him into a building, toppling it over. TK yelped.

Devimon's gaze dragged over to Patamon's limp, unconscious body on the ground.

TK's screams rang in his ears, once such a sweet song. Now it brought not a single ounce of joy.

"I'll kill you," TK snarled, grimacing, reaching up to grab Myotismon's wrist. "For Kari. For Gatomon. For Cody. Wizardmon and Oikawa. You took people important to them and destroyed them. You'll pay for it all."

"Will I now?"

A red glow illuminated Myotismon's hands and filtered the expressions of both him and TK.

"CRIMSON LIGHTNING."

The full impact of the red energy that made up Myotismon's whip struck TK by the throat and sent him crackling two inches deeper into the ground. TK squeezed his eyes shut, trying to find a weak spot in the grip. Electrical currents traveled down his body.

Devimon's arms lowered to his sides. Patamon stirred. The devil looked toward the tiny digimon, only to find the tiny digimon looking toward him.

"Devimon...?" he whispered.

"Shh," Devimon replied. "Sleep while you're allowed, you buffoon."

Patamon blinked tiredly at him, then smiled warmly and nodded. "So weird..." he was mumbling in his half-awake state. "You... looked as though you were crying... Devimon... Was it for me, those tears?"

But he fell asleep before Devimon could answer, as if the virus digimon would.

Devimon's face tipped to the sky. "I swore I'd never return to that world... That is one promise I'll keep, this time for sure. HELL CONTRACT."

Myotismon was struck by a cloud of billowing energy that tore him from TK's body. He rolled over the road, unable to stop himself until he hit the crumbled remnants of a fallen convenience store. Grunting, he stumbled to his feet, shaking his head.

"Never thought you'd see the day, you say?" Devimon told Myotismon as the digimon rose to his feet. He remembered what Myotismon had said before, right after attacking Patamon. About how he thought he'd never see the day Devimon and the Destined stood side-by-side. "What about you?" Devimon went on, "Going back to being a lapdog? Wish I could say I'm surprised."

"At least I'm not playing the Destined's lapdog," Myotismon replied with a deeply disgusted expression on his face. He swiped away clouds of dust from his uniform. "Really, after everything we've seen and been through, old friend, what in the world does this make you?"

TK blearily stood from the crater, holding his neck, coughing and hacking. There was a bright red mark where Myotismon's hands and energy were, but Devimon could see that no severe damage had been done. Not now that TK had the endurance of a digimon— and not just any digimon, either.

It was disappointing really that Myotismon never got to see the true power behind TK's attacks. Devimon however knew Myotismon wouldn't have to wait long. It would be one of the few things he had in common with the blond Destined, their penchant for blood.

This was Devimon's fight, the fight between the Holy Angels' generals. Devimon recalled the prophecy of AncientWisemon, who had witnessed the beginning and the end of time. He said the angel generals of the Holy Angels would do great things. One would help save the universe, while the other would aid its destruction.

At the time, Devimon thought it was simply a rumor used to further pit he and MagnaAngemon against each other. But now he knew better. Devimon was not the prophesied Golden-Haired, Hawk-Eyed Child— he could not defy destiny.

"It doesn't make me anything," Devimon replied, his arms limp at his sides. He thought about Patamon.

It could have been him lying there, so many eons ago when he was fresh and young and frail as a newborn stag. It could have been Myotismon there, too. Or Seraphimon. All of them had been a Patamon at one time, and now here they were, destroying one of the last of their kind.

Devimon would have cried if it wasn't so hilariously ironic.

"I don't know how you do it. I swore I'd never believe another one of those humans. The Endless Ones aren't my glass of wine, but they are the lesser evil," Myotismon went on. Any trace of a laugh or a smile vanished from Myotismon's face. "None of the humans deserve forgiveness."

"We didn't _ask_ for forgiveness," TK managed to hoarsely say, still grasping frantically at his throat. "You... got what you deserved... My only regret is that you didn't stay dead..."

"Shut-up, boy," Devimon snarled at TK in Myotismon's place. TK stopped abruptly. "You have no idea what he's talking about," Devimon went on, his voice softening a little. Just a little. Then more gruffly, he continued, "The things he and I went through... the betrayals we suffered, together... Myotismon wasn't always like this. He wasn't always a demon."

"But that doesn't excuse—!"

"I was an angel," Myotismon said in a saccharine tone. TK stopped. "And a good one, too... My unbending will, my justice, was impeccable. You defeated Piemon by making Patamon digivolve into MagnaAngemon— so you know the power I once had, when _I _was MagnaAngemon." TK's pupils shrunk. Myotismon grinned. "I know the soul of Heaven's Gate, the power of healing and destruction in a single being. I have experienced more than you can comprehend, child. I was Ophanimon's prince. Her general. Her protector. I loved her." He sobered as he stared at Devimon. "Now I'm like you, Devil King. Gone."

Devimon cracked a heinous grin. "I'm not gone," he replied, holding out a hand. A dark orb of crackling energy sparked at the center of it. "The Devil King is right here, _at last_. RAZOR WING."

"CRIMSON LIGHTNING."

Flashes of black and red energy flickered violently, emblazing TK and Patamon's expressions. A bank, house, store, and several other buildings exploded against the force of the colliding attacks, several afterwaves smothering bits of flying concrete and walling and wood and metal. Crushed beneath the cleaved houses were straggling digimon and cars, toppled over by the velocity of the ensuing attacks. Gawking, TK managed to shield Patamon and a nearby Terriermon from the ensuing debris, stunned silent as he watched, helpless.

"CRIMSON LIGHTNING," Myotismon screamed again before Devimon could attack first.

Devimon bit back a snarl and called out, "DEATH CLAW."

His extended hand wrapped around the crackling energy whip, yanking it forward. Myotismon flipped through the air toward Devimon, whose free fist upper-cut him in the jaw. Myotismon flung back, but mid-flip he cried out "GRISLY WING!" and opened his cape to reveal dozens of black alpha bats that cluttered around Devimon. Devimon hissed, batting them away.

"HELL CONTRACT." The cloud of cursed kanji swallowed the bats whole and burst them into glowing orbs of dispersing data. "DEATH CLAW."

Myotismon winced as the claws pierced his chest. With a wretch, his fingers gripped Devimon's wrist just before his claws could sink any deeper and wrenched the fist out just in time. _**SNAP.**_ Devimon growled as Myotismon pinned a jagged metal beam of shrapnel through his arm.

"DEAD SCREAM."

"No!" Devimon howled, but it did not matter. Myotismon lifted his cape and fired a beacon of dark energy which struck Devimon hard enough to paralyze him. He fell to his knees, one of his hands clasping his face. It was the last movement allowed him before the effects of Myotismon's attack set in: he was frozen to the spot, unable to say or think or do a single thing but scream.

TK grimaced, trying to fully stand. His legs weren't functioning correctly, and Patamon was still resting. "Devimon..."

As Devimon crouched completely defenseless, Myotismon landed lightly on the ground beside him. He circled the motionless fallen angel for a while, eyeing him, every now and then tilting his head slightly to the side.

"I've always wanted to do this to you, my dear boy," Myotismon said, reaching forward to tip Devimon's face upwards by his chin. "But fate never lent the opportunity. For the longest time, we've been on the same side. Our master and mistress were the best of friends. Then when they were gone, you and I took off on our own paths. I imagine if the Destined never separated us, we would have crossed paths once again at _some_ point. But 'what if' does no one any good, now does it?"

Devimon's teeth clenched harder together. He could feel his jaw muscles tighten along his jowls. If only he could talk... if only he could attack...

"Get... away from him...!" TK snarled, trying to gather the energy to push Myotismon away, but he was still too weak from Myotismon's earlier attack.

"CRIMSON LIGHTNING." Devimon thew his head back in a silent scream as the red energy lashed against his back. "CRIMSON LIGHTNING." It slashed across his face, opening gashes deep inside his bone structure. Teeth and rotted gums were exposed behind the cheek line. "CRIMSON LIGHTNING." The whip of red energy then grabbed Devimon by the wrist and lifted him into the air so that his legs dangled.

"All these years," Myotismon said, "And this is the epitome of our rivalry? What a disappointment. In the end..." Myotismon held up a red-glowing hand. "...Even you cannot defy the difference in our level. We are champion and ultimate. Ultimate and No Good Traitorous Scumbag. NIGHTMARE WAVE."

The attack struck with enough force to emit another loud scream from Devimon. This time it was worse. This time, he saw brilliant flashes of his past come to the surface of his mind, things he hadn't seen for decades but came to him as clear as TK's expression when he witnessed Myotismon's attack. As clear as TK's expression, years ago, as Angemon vanished before his eyes in a steam-coil of bright blue data.

Devimon saw the days of old when he was a Patamon, playing in the grassy fields of Huanglongmon's palace, training to be the prince of the heavenly kingdom. His future master was there, too, daydreaming of a day when they could finally meet the humans. He saw grand feasts with his Patamon brethren, then the brothers of heraldry once he evolved.

There were flashes of dancing in the city streets, clutching at the hair of Ophanimon, her smile and her sweet kisses along his cheek; he saw Ophanimon in the arms of Lucemon, then in the arms of the darkest god— the god who corrupted them all— he saw Ophanimon, no, not Ophanimon – greater than Ophanimon, the fallen Ophanimon, with shawls black and purple— he watched her data scatter in the wind, her cries fall silent in his hands. He watched his Lord Seraphimon peel off his teal helmet, revealing the morphing face beneath, the disfigured lip that bulged and turned to rubber, his fangs that jutted from his upper-jaw, the way his hands grew and ripped through his gloves, revealing beneath them fur and claw and paw. What were once ten golden wings blackened and decayed, oozing together to instead form two. Lord Seraphimon ripped his feathers out one-by-one, cackling madly, until all that was left was the purple membrane.

Horns sprouted from his head. His blond hair jutted out in a mane of slicked-back black. The lines of the emblem of Hope curved into a pentagram.

Then, as if coming to life, the image looked directly into Devimon's face. Myotismon laughed. Devimon realized his dreaming had manifested into reality, and that before him stood his great master... his greatest folly.

TK fumbled. The creature was massive, floating toward the sky, wings outspread. Brilliant, dazzling lights splayed around him in an eerie, malevolent, _hot_ strobe that burned at the touch.

"_**BUT YOU SAID YOU WOULD FOLLOW ME..."**_ the demonic creature said, the demonic creature who was once Devimon's lord and master. **_"YOU SAID YOU'D BE THERE... TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD... EVEN IF YOU HAD TO SELL YOUR SOUL... YOU WOULD FOLLOW ME."_**

Devimon screamed, grasping desperately at his temples. Myotismon released him so that he sunk to his knees.

It was in his head, wasn't it? But then, why was his master's voice so clear in his mind? It was as if he were addressing him face-to-face.

"_**WE WERE BROTHERS, DEVIMON."**_ The demonic creature held out his hand. **_"SO WHERE WERE YOU? WHERE WERE YOU WHEN I NEEDED YOU?"_**

"GET OUT!" Devimon roared. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

"_**THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD WAS ON MY SHOULDERS... I TOOK CARE OF THIS WORLD, I GAVE IT ALL THE LOVE AND CARE IT NEEDED,"**_ the vision said, turning to look up at the sky. He raised his hand up, touching the light of the spinning, spitting vortex. **_"I NEVER COMPLAINED. AND LOOK WHAT THAT WORLD DID TO ME. IT MADE ME INTO THIS..._**

"_**INTO **_**DEMON****_."_**

Devimon's lord and master rose high above his head, his arms outstretched— LORD DEMON.

"Demon..." TK, too, fell to his knees, his body going limp on the broken and frayed cement. "...Your master... was Demon... I should have known... hahahah... _hahahahah_..."

"_**YOU COULD HAVE HELPED ME,"**_ Demon's ghost said. An orb of brilliant orange light began to manifest between his spread palms. **_"YOU COULD HAVE STOPPED ME FROM BECOMING THIS. BUT YOU WERE NEVER GRATEFUL. YOU AND THE REST OF THE WORLD NEVER APPRECIATED US, EVEN THOUGH WE GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO SAVE IT, EVEN OUR SOULS. AND IN THE MOMENT WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST, MY BROTHER, MY FRIEND, MY RIGHT-HAND..._**

"_**YOU ABANDONED ME, JUST AS YOU WILL ABANDON HIM."**_

TK fell silent. Myotismon rose cackling. As Demon's vision dispersed into thin air, he, too, just like Devimon and TK, had fallen to his knees.

Myotismon's attack allowed Devimon to witness his greatest nightmares and fears come to life.

Just as Devimon destroyed any will to fight inside Etemon, Myotismon had destroyed any will to fight inside Devimon.

In the background, the members of Myotismon's personal army surrounded them. Armagemon hovered above their heads, shadowing their faces, as a smörgåsbord of different Keramon, Cerberumon, Ebemon, and Gulfmon circled them. An expulsion of digimon forces burst through a DigiPort behind them. Hi Andromon, Assaultmon, and Eaglemon roared into existence, ripping through the hordes of Myotismon's elite.

"Cannonbeemon!" came a voice ahead of them all. Devimon, TK, and Myotismon looked up to see ShogunGekomon stand as tall as a building, right before them, holding his webbed hand out toward them. In two lines extending out from both his shoulders was what had to be at least several dozen metal bee digimon with super-large caliber laser cannons. "FIRE."

Several dozen super-large caliber laser cannons which exploded with corona-burning missiles right in the direction of Myotismon and his army. Myotismon lifted up his cloak and deflected several of the blasts. Armagemon was blown back into the nearby coast, destroying several docks and crushing countless digimon in his descent. More than a few Keramon and Ebemon exploded into clouds of data. TK called out Devimon's name and, holding Patamon in one arm, the human boy of Hope pinned the near-catatonic demon digimon to his stomach in a protective barrier. As the fire and shrapnel consumed them, Devimon heard TK scream.

"Takaishi!" Devimon bellowed, but TK knocked the digimon's head against the pavement, stopping him from switching their positions.

Lieutenant Gulfmon grunted. "BLACK REQUIEM."

The mouth on his lower-body snapped open its jaws and emitted a high-pitched shriek that rattled the very core of the Cannonbeemon. Instantaneously, half of them exploded, and several more yet plunged to the ground where they would join their dead brethren. ShogunGekomon actually laughed.

"Is that the best you can do?" the red frog-like digimon bellowed. "SAMURAI TONE."

A low-pitched belch of sound crashed against Gulfmon, pushing him back. In the ensuing chaos, ShogunGekomon looked down at TK, Devimon, and the unconscious Patamon, and said, "Quickly, stop Myotismon! I will distract his troops! GEKOMON, to the front!"

"GRISLY WING." Bats converged upon ShogunGekomon, who tried to swat them away unsuccessfully.

Ignoring the ultimate digimon, Myotismon twisted around and marched in Devimon and TK's direction. Howling with rage, he yanked a limp and wounded and scalded TK off of Devimon and shoved him to the ground, where he winced and lied trembling, then grabbed Devimon by his neck.

Half of Myotismon's face had been burned by the explosions. "So you still fear him, you paltry being, and yet you have the nerve to defy him!"

Devimon gave a wry grin. "Paltry... _heh_... If I'm so paltry, why is it me you hone in on? Shouldn't you be looking for Gatomon?"

"Gatomon..." Myotismon's brow furrowed. "She was a pathetic subordinate and I despise her betrayal, but this holds far more importance than my grudge with an underling."

"_Underling_. Hahahah. Hahahahah!" Devimon threw his head back in a laugh. "You know nothing, Myotismon! And you hope to rise above me, to inherit Demon's favor, yet he has told you absolutely nothing! I betrayed him and refused to bow to him, yet he _still_ informed me of so much more than he ever informed you! Nada! Hahahah, hahahahah! See how far being a _faithful slave _gets you? HAHAHA."

"Yes..." Myotismon grunted, lifting a lip in a disgusted glare. "I suppose he has told me nothing. But I was never _his_ general, now was I? That was your job, as his... _protector_. In that way, you were a failure. He said under his rule, he would be the only one you had to bow to. But now you are no longer under his eye, you're under mine. So therefore you will bow to _me."_

"Never," Devimon hissed, sobered.

"You will bow!" Myotismon howled, shoving him to the ground and kicking him in the back.

(-1010201-)

The light was fading... TK reached up to feel the wound in his arm. A chunk of shrapnel was sticking out of it. His back ached and there were strings of sharp pain traveling up and down his spine. Nothing was broken, but he was sure if it weren't for the newest evolution he would have been dead.

So this was what digimon had to endure every time they fought for their partners.

Patamon was lying on the ground feet from him, his eyes closed. TK reached out for him, his fingers grazing his gentle digimon's hooves. "I'm so sorry... Patamon..." he whispered, trying to numb the excruciating pain.

How could he have put his digimon through this so many times? He knew it must have hurt, otherwise they would always be able to get back up and fight... but he didn't realize, maybe because he knew his conscience would kill him if he comprehended it, just how that pain stabbed and wrenched and gutted him from the inside-out.

_Patamon has fought for me through so much..._ he thought, linking his fingers through the cracks in Patamon's hoof. _Now it's time I repay the favor._

"CRIMSON LIGHTNING."

TK's head snapped around as he heard Devimon scream. A red flash of light lashed his shoulder blade, opening an inch-deep gash along the edge.

"BOW," Myotismon screeched.

"No..." TK whispered, weakly getting to his hands and knees. "No... stoppit..." he mumbled, his entire body quivering as he lifted one knee and firmly anchored his right foot to the road. "Don't hurt him..."

He thought about Angemon dissolving into data all those years ago. He thought about seeing Devimon for the first time since that moment, surrounded by the ocean waves, water whirling around them. He thought about six months ago, when Devimon's hand lanced through his chest, and how, after he woke up, Devimon proposed they train together.

What had he hoped to accomplish? Did he really think he could improve TK's abilities so much?

He remembered the way Devimon's mood shifted every time Yolei interrupted their battles with Twinkies and soda, how he only allowed them a break when the Inoues came with snacks. He remembered Devimon stopping his attack an inch from Jun's face, hand shaking, how he would have killed her without a second thought yet he _stopped_, and why? Why did he stop? For TK's sake? No, he would not have stopped for TK's sake.

TK didn't understand any of it.

But his feet moved without him even realizing it.

"CRIMSON LIGHTNING."

"DEVIMON."

The red-glowing whip slashed TK in the ribs. The impact rebounded, forcing Myotismon more than a couple of steps backwards. TK bounded into Devimon, who caught him, the boy's back arched over Devimon's arm. Devimon watched him for a few seconds, wide-eyed.

TK gave a sad grin. "That's the third time..." he whispered, reaching up. "...this fight..." His fingers touched Devimon's bleeding, ripped-open cheek. "...that we've protected you..." He bitterly laughed. "Dunno why... It's not like I can ever forgive you... Maybe it's just in my nature... to protect the _weak_..."

"Weak..." Devimon stared with those wide eyes for a few seconds more before he processed it. Then, with a bitter grin of his own, he removed a tuft of hair from TK's eyes. "_Heh_. Show you weak."

"Should've seen your face when Patamon and I jumped in the way," TK chuckled. Devimon didn't return his laughter. After a few seconds' time, the blond boy sobered and continued, "I... don't know when, Devimon... but I started trusting you..." Tears filled his eyes. "It's not right... It's not fair... None of this..."

"Shh for now," Devimon said, resting TK on the pavement. ShogunGekomon was now distracting Myotismon, but it wouldn't last for long. TK stared up at Devimon and opened his mouth to argue, but Devimon harshly grabbed him by the jaw and gave a petulant grin. "Just nod if you remember three months ago, when you told me your dream." When TK didn't nod, Devimon sighed and continued, "You said I was the face of darkness in your mind, that when you thought of evil, it was I who came up even though I was the weakest of your big bads. You said the power of hope gave you the dream of avenging Patamon, of finally getting retribution for when he sacrificed his life to stop me. You said there were three things you'd do. The first was beat me in training, the second was stop the Endless Ones, and the third was to send me to DigiHell."

TK winced. Now it came back to him. That was the night he and Patamon finally managed to defeat Devimon in a two-against-one scenario, with Patamon still remaining in his rookie form. It was also the night he first managed to really unlock the Enigma Evolution and tap into that dream power which flowed like blood through his veins.

Devimon's grin didn't waver as he said, "I'm sorry, idiot boy," and he stood, "you won't have the honor of doing the third. But you will have your retribution, that I promise."

"Devimon..." TK whispered. He reached out to grab Devimon's hand, but Devimon walked away before he could. "Devimon, wait!" TK called out, but when Devimon didn't respond, he called out again, a bit louder this time, "Don't go! We can fight this together!" His voice pierced the sky. "Devimon, no! You don't... you don't have to be alone..." How did things come to this? TK struggled to stand, but he couldn't; his energy was drained, he was too wounded to move. "DEVIMON. I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO."

He never thought he'd shed tears for the angel of darkness.

"_DEVIMON_."

But his eyes were warm and wet and stinging.

"_**DEVIMON!"**_

(-1010201-)

"BLOOD PUNCH."

ShogunGekomon died in a scream of fury that enraptured him and Myotismon both. Myotismon, panting, floated to the ground, where he grabbed his ribs. That was more difficult than he expected it to be, but nothing compared to what he had coming. As he twisted around, he found Devimon directly behind him.

Giving him barely enough time to raise his arms in defense, Devimon spat out, "LASER WING."

The attack cut Myotismon back by several inches. He howled in outrage, ripping forward. They exchanged blows, a flurry of punches and kicks that pushed Myotismon back. Devimon's wings shifted. They both took to the air. Myotismon slammed his palm into Devimon's chin and sent him spiraling backwards; Devimon caught himself mid-flip and sent a barrage of black flames toward Myotismon's face. Myotismon redirected it into a nearby hospital that burst like a fruit.

A red beam of energy surged out of Myotismon's arms and devastated two city streets, knocking Devimon at least several yards back. Devimon's palms sunk into the roof of a trailer home and catapulted it straight at Myotismon's face. Myotismon flung back and dispersed a wave of bats at Devimon's face; Devimon enveloped them in a wave of darkness that tore the bats open.

"You idiot..." Devimon huffed, jerking the lid off a manhole and chucking it. It crushed Myotismon's nose, sending him buckling backwards. "You've forgotten. I bow to _no one_, not even Demon. And especially not to you, not some washed-up has-been who's died thrice by Destined hands. At least the second time I died it was for a _useful purpose_. I didn't fight it. I accepted it. But you, good ole pathetic you, have been seeking ways to avoid the end since we were rookies. It's embarrassing!"

"Shut-up..." Myotismon's voice lowered into a rumble.

Devimon laughed. "Why? You know it's true. At one time, you were intimidating. Even horrifying, a creature _I _would not be displeased to ally myself with if worse went to worst, even if I hated you. But now you are nothing. A shell of your old self. You've been deleted too many times, Myotismon! You've lost what made you great! Demon senses it, his Generals sense it, I sense it, everyone senses it, everyone except you! Now it's time you realize it.

"You've become a useless, pathetic waste of space... YOU ARE DEMON'S DEMIDEVIMON. No, you hardly deserve my final words to you, much less a _bow_."

"You've become more resilient than before," Myotismon noted with an arrogant smirk, still holding his gushing nose. "Is this because I hurt your poor pets? Oh wait, _you_ are the pet. It must be because I threatened your _masters._"

"No," Devimon replied, holding up a hand. "It's because you've forgotten. You've forgotten that at one time you were enigmatic, intriguing. One time you were the best of the best, I dare say even better than me— even though it pains me to say it— but you have degraded yourself to this state. And worse than forgetting yourself, you've forgotten who _I_ am.

"You tried to make me bow to you.

"I bow to _no one_.

"Because I... I am DEVIMON, the DEVIL KING. And _**YOU**_ will bow to _**ME**_!

"_**DEATH CLAW**_!"

Blood splattered the road as Devimon's extended arm harpooned Myotismon through the chest. Then, while his fingers wrapped around Myotismon's heart, he cried out, "HELL CONTRACT," and shot an aura of screaming cursed spirits deep inside Myotismon's body. They cried out, infecting his chest, his torso, his stomach. Electrical currents exploded along Devimon's arm, severing Myotismon's arm from his body. The arm burst into data and was followed by half of Myotismon's face, also destroyed by the ensuing explosions.

"No..." Myotismon murmured, quivering, growing limp against Devimon's hand. "I will not be defeated by you... not you, of all digimon... just a mere champion!"

"If not by me," Devimon said through a grin, "then by _them._"

He nodded in TK and Patamon's direction.

Myotismon looked up, then he, too, gave a grin. "We will see, General Angemon. CRIMSON LIGHTNING."

The attack wrapped around Devimon's throat. Devimon's grin didn't waver, didn't fade. He craned his neck so he could see TK, the boy with the angel partner stretching out a hand for the Devil King, his lips mid-cry as he screamed Devimon's name over and over again.

The half-dead Myotismon then yanked his elbow back,

and severed Devimon's head.

"_**DEVIMON!"**_ TK bellowed, but his voice fell on a dead mon's ears.

(-'**102010**'-)

**Chapter Preview:** "Hey, kid?"

"Yeah?"

"Do me a favor, will ya?"

Since he was a little boy, TK has been angry with the forces of darkness. Maybe that'll never change. Maybe it will. The course of his path toward hope or wrath truly begins...

Next chapter: **The Lighthouse Act I Session X Part VI: The Cataclysm of the Angel King**


	10. I&X: The Cataclysm of the Angel King

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Dark on Fire" by Turin Brakes

(-'010102000'-)

"Back then, how much did I pray... If I could go back in time... But that's impossible. Even if we don't like it, we have to look forward. That's reality. In my endless despair, I cursed my own fate."

—TK, _Digimon Adventure 02 Episode 19: The Amalgamated Monster (Funimation Sub)_

"You've used up all your power. That wasn't very smart, Angemon. Now you are no use to anyone! You can't get away from the dark forces. Evil is everywhere, so don't savor your victory. There are other digimon who are just as powerful as I am, some of them are even stronger. I wonder what you'll do when you run into them. You haven't won at all. What a waste of time!"

—Devimon, _Digimon Adventure Episode 13: The Legend of the DigiDestined (Dub)_

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session X**

... Part VI: The Cataclysm of the Angel King ...

As Jun, Momoe, and Shuu made their way across Odaiba in search of corrupt digimon, Momoe came to a sudden halt, skidding along the pavement. Jun and Shuu almost didn't notice. It was Jun who saw Momoe first and blinked.

"Momoe—" she started, until she saw the tears running down Momoe's cheeks. Her partner, Cyclonemon, reached out to delicately grab her hand.

"Are you having another breakdown?" Jun gave worried look.

Momoe shook her head. "I don't know how, it's just a feeling deep in my heart, but..." Sniffling, she helped Cyclonemon wipe the tears off her cheeks. "But I know... something bad's happened to Devimon."

She looked off in the distance, where she saw the blue lightning strike the road.

(-0101020-)

Bruised and bloody, TK struggled to arrive at Devimon's location in time to reach up and feel the data bytes slip between his fingertips. It felt like water sagging between his hands, leaking, like no matter how hard he tried to keep it in, it would all come spilling out either way. The purple glow illuminated his face, his hands.

As Devimon's body dissolved and fluttered to the sky like butterflies, TK bent down to peer into the eyes of Devimon's dismembered head. Gently, TK reached forward and picked it up.

"Devimon," TK whispered. "Don't go. Not now. Not like this."

"Hey, kid?" began Devimon's severed head.

"Yeah?" TK tried to hold back the tears from flowing, but he couldn't.

Devimon didn't comment on them. Instead, he made a request. "Do me a favor, will ya? Something I was unable to do? Kill Demon for me. End his misery."

TK stared wide-eyed at him for a moment, then, shivering, he nodded quickly. Devimon's chin was beginning to dissolve now, fluttering to the heavens like his body.

"Hmph." Devimon snickered, giving TK the best, most devious grin he could muster. "I guess..." He was almost fully dissolved now, "...Angemon's sacrifice wasn't such a waste of time after all..."

TK smiled through the tears.

"Maybe I'll see ya around, Kid. Make sure to treat the nice girl well."

The nice girl... Momoe?

"I will," he replied with another nod.

All that was left now was Devimon's eyes, though his voice still rung clearly in TK's ears. "...Goodbye, idiot."

And then the data of Devimon's head disappeared into the sky. As his data disintegrated, TK couldn't help but continue smiling, the tears flooding his cheeks and rolling off his chin. Even to his last, Devimon was a foul-mouthed ass, yet for once TK didn't mind. He watched the skies for he didn't know how long— long enough to feel a tremor beneath his feet, a tremor that traveled and ricocheted in his stomach and chest. The tremor turned into a burning feeling in his lungs, and before he knew it, he bent over, holding his head, his knees touching the ground.

He didn't understand.

_I hate Devimon._

_I hate him!_

_I'm glad he's dead! I'm glad! I'm..._ He choked, one hand grasping his mouth.

_He can't come back this time,_ TK thought, cradling his temples. _He died on Earth. In this world, in this Digital World, his data has been permanently deleted. Maybe – maybe – he can reformat on another Earth, another Digital World, like Etemon did... but not this one._

_I'll never see him again._

_He's gone._

_Forever._

And the tears halted in their tracks. He paused, his brow furrowed. The pain continued to blossom inside of him, growing. One of his hands rested on his chest, fingertips digging into cloth.

_I want to see him again,_ TK realized. He leaned back so that he was no longer on his knees, instead sitting down.

_I don't hate Devimon._

What little hold he had over his stomach was lost as he buckled over and emptied it just like Yolei after a night of hard partying. He dry-heaved a few more times, his shoulders violently hitching as his body trembled. His fingers dug into the mixed sediment that was once the road leading home, now nothing but upturned earth. God, this was once his city... his home... Devimon was once his enemy, once his friend...

What was it now? What was _Devimon_ now? He hadn't stayed alive long enough for TK to figure it out. Now he'd never know.

TK tried to think of the digimon he lost who he would never see again. Wizardmon... Pumpkinmon... Gotsumon... and now Devimon. And what was worse, it was Myotismon who had taken them all from him.

"Taken them from him"— what an odd concept, that Devimon could be lamented, could change TK from his greatest nemesis into his greatest mourner. That "taking away" could be applied to Devimon.

It was confusing. It hurt to think about, that he could cry over a digimon who had damaged him so much over the years.

_I have no one he can give back to me._ That was what Devimon told Etemon.

Etemon's "old master", was that Demon as well? Did that mean at some point Etemon had betrayed his old master Demon, died, come back in TK's reality, and started working for Demon once again? That Etemon had agreed to follow Demon because Demon promised to bring back someone Etemon lost? That Demon could travel across the very dimensions themselves...?

_I have no one he can give back to me._

_I have no one he can give back to me._

_I have no one he can give back to me._

"You have me now," TK said, watching the dispersing data, fingers shaking as the data streamed between his fingers, warm and light. "You have me. You have me. You have me, Devimon. The Devil King."

"Kukuku."

Myotismon stood behind him, his head leaning off the side, his hair in a mess all along his head. Half his face was missing, along with the arm on the same missing side. His only remaining eye was bulging, red veins pulsing in their white lens, vessels swelling over the skin of his temple.

"He deserved it..." Myotismon said, reaching up so that the last of Devimon's data swam between his fingers.

"Don't touch him," TK snarled. "Get your dirty hand away from him."

"But he deserves this," Myotismon replied. "He deserves it all. He killed your Angemon, shouldn't you agree with me?"

"Maybe he did deserve to die," TK said, now standing, shaking. But he quickly realized he wasn't shaking out of fear or sadness. "But it still doesn't feel right. He was your friend."

"He was never my friend, he was my rival."

"Yeah, and Davis Motomiya is mine, but I could never kill him for it!" TK snapped, lunging at Myotismon. "HE SHOULDN'T HAVE DIED. NOT LIKE THAT. NOT NOW."

"TK, no!" He felt something hard connect with his ribs, blocking his path to Myotismon. Looking down, he realized it was Patamon, who, too, was crying. Was TK still crying? He could feel the warmth spilling down his cheeks. "TK, he'll kill you!"

"I don't care!" TK screamed. "I'm not that scared, weak, crying little boy hiding behind his partner anymore!"

"You were never a scared, weak, crying, hiding little boy, TK," Patamon whispered, his voice breaking. "You were always strong, even when you didn't believe you were. _I _believed in you. And though he wouldn't ever admit it, Devimon did, too. Please, don't go..."

TK felt the strength flee from his legs. He wobbled again. He'd said the same thing to Devimon, begging him not to fight Myotismon. Both of them knew Devimon would die if he did. But he went into the fight anyway, because TK and Patamon had almost died to save him... and so he did die, in order to save them.

Then it hit TK. The reason for Devimon's change. He'd been so confused over it. Of course, was he really so blind with anger and wrath that he couldn't see it before?

Patamon was right. Devimon never came to them because he viewed them as the lesser of two evils, or because they would be easier to dispense of once the Endless Ones were deposed. Perhaps that was partly the reason, maybe that was the reason on the surface, the reason he told himself so he could live with what he'd done everyday, telling himself he'd kill them all anyway. But it wasn't the real reason.

After all, why would he train TK and Patamon, allowing them to discover his weaknesses and strengths, if he someday intended to kill them as well?

He may have wanted to believe he would. But it was there... in the data that fluttered to the sky... Devimon's true intention was to help TK and Patamon against Demon. Demon, who oppressed Devimon— Devimon, who oppressed TK and Patamon— Devimon, who promised to never follow in Demon's footsteps. He'd made sure of that.

TK went limp against Patamon. "I... was wrong, Patamon..."

"I know," Patamon whispered through his own tears, hugging TK with his ears and hooves.

TK bowed his head. "But he killed you. He _killed you_. How could I...? God, what's wrong with me...? I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Patamon..."

"I understand," Patamon replied, his grip tightening around TK. "I... feel the same way."

Devimon was an ass. He was blunt. He was also very harsh, and rude, and effective. He never lied, even if the truths he spoke were sometimes twisted to sound worse than they really were. He wasn't always right, sure, but he never lied. He was angry. He was impossible. He was cold-hearted and mean and brutal.

And he was sorry.

He was bitter, pessimistic— but he wanted to hope_._

He was Devimon. _Their_ Devimon. Their grumpy, dear, dead Devil King.

Who was taken from them by Myotismon.

"Patamon," TK said, his tone lowering until it was a rumble deep in his chest. The sickness fluttered away in his stomach until it was nothing but a hollow block of ice in his chest. He rose to his feet, unsheathing his D3 from his pocket. Suddenly the scorched surface of his skin didn't hurt as much. Suddenly the ache in his ribs and the gashes in his arms didn't matter as much.

Patamon, too, stood. "Understood," he said.

TK held up his digivice. "Let's end this... together."

"For Devimon," Patamon added, rising to his side. A golden light filled his veins, pulsating out of his body before wrapping around him in an egg-like structure. An organic sack of living tissue webbed over his body. "Patamon digivolve to..."

"No you don't!" Myotismon shouted, pointing his palm toward Patamon.

TK, too, flicked his wrist toward Myotismon. Just as the red flash of light consumed Myotismon's arm, that same arm bounded to the right, shifting just in time so that the flash did not catch Patamon. Myotismon snarled. "What did you do, boy?"

"Enigma Evolved," TK replied.

White beacons of light beamed out of the golden egg surrounding Patamon. As the organic glass cracked, snowy feathers burst from the chinks, a hand reaching out in the light for solid ground. Screaming, the shell encasing Patamon scattered, revealing beneath its surface none other than Angemon.

It was the first time Patamon had digivolved into Angemon since TK was 11-years-old. Not even when facing Devimon two-on-one had Patamon evolved into him, knowing Devimon wanted the rookie to gain the strength to beat him in that same stage. If a rookie could beat one of the strongest champions the Digital World had ever seen, what could stop him if he digivolved?

"Now," Angemon and TK spoke in unison, their voices dulled by the shock of Devimon's death, their expressions creased, tears falling down their cheeks. They moved together, side-by-side, mirroring each other's movements. "We destroy you."

Myotismon blocked TK's kick, but was unable to dodge Angemon's punch. "Hand of FATE," Angemon howled, smashing Myotismon several feet back. TK's foot then bludgeoned Myotismon's ribs, blowing him further back, and sent his knuckles spiraling into Myotismon's chin, knocking him off his feet.

"TK, use your ability!" Angemon cried. "Full force, don't hold back!"

"I won't hold back," TK replied, holding up his hands. "Not this time... Not now... Not against you!"

The blood oozing from Myotismon's wounds gushed out of him, pooling on the floor beneath him. He screeched, trying to stunt the flow, but it leaked past his hands and clothes. His broken nose, his severed arm and face, his pierced chest and the cut on his lip... it continued flooding.

"Your blood flows," TK said, moving his hand with every motion, every wave of Myotismon's blood. His breath was hoarse and his tone ragged, but strong— echoing in the depths of TK's chest. "I will make it so Devimon's attacks bleed and bleed. I will dilute the blood and make only water. You will starve, malnourished, and soon your internal organs will be unable to support you... With your blood, I move your limbs, I sever your legs, I propel your fangs from your gums, I twist the contents of your stomach, I corrode your bones, I intercept the nerves sending messages to your brain! I am Hope, the blood of life, and so blood I control, blood I am!"

"Blood... It's _blood_..." Myotismon laughed as the scarlet liquid continued spewing out of every orifice in his face. He was growing weaker. TK's attack was growing stronger.

Angemon, too, could feel the power flowing through him, stronger than he had ever felt before. TK's energy bolstered him above a level he thought possible. He could move mountains, drain the heavens, pillage the hells, all if he so desired.

"GOD TYPHOON."

Spinning his golden rod, a gust of wind surrounded Myotismon, attempting to rip him to pieces at the same moment TK tore the blood from his body. Myotismon was struggling to keep together, every muscle twinging, every lung heaving.

"Hand of FATE." As Angemon lunged at Myotismon, the vampire digimon swore for a moment – just a moment – that the angel digimon moving toward him was the ghost of his fallen comrade, the Devil King, purified in his holy form.

"_**Myotismon."**_

The deep, feminine voice made Myotismon, TK, and Angemon all halt. TK and Angemon looked around, but they couldn't find the source of the voice.

A second later, a DigiPort appeared behind Myotismon. Myotismon stared blankly at it for a couple of seconds, obviously taken aback, until a grin widened his lips, his fingers embedding themselves in the road.

"My goddess has decided to spare me," Myotismon whispered with a small laugh.

"No!" TK called out, flicking his wrist, but it was too late:

Myotismon had already bolted through the vortex, which closed as soon as he went through it.

(-0101021-)

Myotismon landed with a thud on the palace floor. Panting, he tried to recollect himself, but he was so weak from the combined efforts of Devimon, TK, and Angemon that he resorted to merely collapsing on the floor, holding himself, heaving.

_These wounds..._ Yes, Myotismon was certain now. The cursed kanji Devimon expelled into his body wouldn't allow his wounds to heal. Not even with time or effort... maybe one of the Endless Ones could heal them, but would they care enough to try? And the boy— his angel digimon as well— their power nearly ended him once and for all.

What evolution was that to make someone so incredibly powerful?

It had to be... Yes, TK had named it. It was an evolution that was deemed so dangerous, it had been outlawed long ago by the Council, an evolution only the very first five had been allowed to use. Until they decided it was too much power for even one person to hold— much less five— much less _twelve_.

Enigma Evolution.

The ability to manipulate digital matter to a single person's will, using the power of dreams.

If the evolution continued, they would evolve into gods. Yggdrasil, The Olympus Twelve, Huanglongmon, GranDracmon and the Demon Lords, ENIAC— they would all bow at the feet of the DigiDestined and their Divine Partners. However could the Council allow their continued existence? And now that the process had begun, it was impossible to stop.

"Get up," said the voice who called him back to the palace, hence saving his life. Myotismon murmured something, not even he knew what, and coughed again, lying his palms flat on the floor as he rose to his knees.

"Don't think I'll give you mercy for failing," the woman continued. "I did this for Her. I think... She would like to see you, when we get Her back." The Goddess of the Moons looked up at the ceiling, at the great beam of darkness that jetted out across the Dark Ocean. "So that _She_ can be the one to kill you. She'd resent the Destined of Hope getting the final blow."

"And why would my mistress kill me?" Myotismon growled. "I have been nothing but faithful to Her, even in death."

The virgin Moon Goddess threw her head back in a loud laugh that startled the vampire king. When the laughter died, she leaned forward, grabbing him by his shirt and said, "You have no idea what you have done to Her. If I didn't think She'd want to take your life, I would do it myself. As it is, that honor belongs to Her. So enjoy my mercy while it lasts. It'll end soon."

With that, she shoved Myotismon to the ground. Myotismon's eyes widened. He didn't understand. What was this crazy woman blathering on about? The mistress was dead. How could he have done anything to her? He'd watched her die. He was with her when it happened— and so was the Moon Goddess, and Devimon, and Lord Demon.

They all cried with Mistress Lilithmon when she was stolen from them so cruelly.

"Oh," noted the Moon Goddess as she approached the exit. She paused and looked back at him, her hand resting against the door frame. "And don't try to escape. Fallen Angels greater and older than even you watch these halls. If they can imprison Wisemon, trust me when I say they can imprison you as well, no matter how strong or great you are."

Myotismon stumbled, leaning against the wall. Since when had he become a prisoner instead of a trusted, faithful ally? Sure, he was planning to backstab them all eventually (he was done being someone else's servant— he'd gotten a taste of what it was like to be the master), but surely they hadn't thought it was time for that yet. Myotismon hadn't even planned to do anything for at least another few years.

If there was one thing Myotismon despised, it was being held captive. For three years of his life, he had been trapped in that dastardly Dream Realm. Then for another five, he had been in this world, this terrible, disgusting, worn-out world...

Myotismon's nose crinkled. "Enjoy _your position_ while it lasts," he told the Moon Goddess. She paused, but didn't turn around or respond. Only then he allowed a small smile. "After all, you may be Demon's left-hand now. But tell me, if the Mistress really does return, where then do you think you will go? You, a mere substitute?"

The Moon Goddess continued to say nothing.

Myotismon snickered. "That's what I thought."

She walked away, leaving him alone in the silence, in the darkness, in the Darkhouse.

(-'**10201012**'-)

**Chapter Preview:**

-"We should let someone else take care of Machinedramon." "Why? Are you okay?" "He should be dead. Permanently dead. Ryo and I... Ken... Tch."

-"I knew I wasn't allowed to hatch yet. So I stayed asleep. Then something – something dark, something... something _evil..._ awakened me."

-"Hold my hand."

-"EXVEEMON ENIGMA EVOLVE TO..."

-"TOGETHER!" "DARK ROAR!" "CATASTROPHE D!"

-"I won't... let you... endanger this world... again... I won't let you ruin the life of another one of my partners..."

- "This world's future no longer aligns with the future I once conquered. He can't save you this time, Veemon!"

-"He's left us, left us both... you and me and Agumon..."

-"I'm almost there, Motomiya. Hang on." "I'll wait for you. As long as it takes, I'll wait for you!"

**NEXT CHAPTER: **The Cataclysm of Millenniummon's Ghost


	11. I&XI: Cataclysm of Millenniummon's Ghost

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Shangri-La" from the Noein OST

**Author's Note:** This chapter references not only a few attacks I'm unfamiliar with (due to never having seen them, though I tried researching them and still came up null), but also the WonderSwan games which featured Ryo as the protagonist. Unfortunately, I've never played those games (though I want to), but I have done a lot of research on them (particularly at Syldra dot net) so I hope the references in this chapter are accurate. I also made due with a few attacks that I'm not sure what they actually do, in particular "Terrible Gaze" and "Demon Stab", so I kind of made that up.

(-'010102000'-)

"One week has passed since then... Ryo-san has not returned yet. It seems he has not yet returned to the Digital World either, according to Gennai-san's e-mails... Though everyone else is worried, I am not. I feel... surely Ryo-san is out on a new adventure. Although there is no basis for this, I believe it... Unlike me, he is a true Tamer. No matter what happens on what world, so long as there is a Digital World, surely there's someone who needs Ryo-san's help. Thus, I think it's true. I hope, no matter how many years it takes, that we will meet again."

—Ken, _D-1 Tamers_

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XI**

... Part VII: The Cataclysm of Millenniummon's Ghost ...

"Yolei! Tai!" Davis reached out to grab them, but he was separated from them by a blinding flash of light. Yolei was swept in another direction toward Etemon, while Tai and Agumon dodge-rolled toward Piemon. Davis peered around for the source of the blinding light, and found Machinedramon.

He was massive. Davis rarely saw such massive digimon, especially ones that looked so intimidating. He stood before the digimon descending from the vortex above. Within seconds, more descending digimon than Davis could count were hovering behind him— and he highly doubted they were Azulongmon's reinforcements.

He spent a good chunk of the last six months in the Digital World preparing for this day. They knew the Digital World would also be attacked, but the difference between the Digital World and Earth was that Earth would not be able to defend itself as well against the threats. Azulongmon was hesitant on allowing digimon to travel to Earth, but Oikawa and Gennai managed to convince him that it would be for the best. What good would it be for the Digital World if they let Earth be conquered? What if the Digital World had another crisis, but there were no Earth children this time to bail them out?

Davis didn't actually get to see Oikawa. Oikawa had no physical shape. But Gennai told him it was Oikawa whose words Azulongmon most strongly listened to, Davis wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because Oikawa had taken place as the Digital World's protector, the seal between gates, the restorer of beauty.

All Davis knew was that convincing Azulongmon to send in back-up was a good plan. If Japan alone was having this much trouble already, what about the rest of the world? But then again, Japan had a relatively low amount of Destined compared to plenty of other nations. Then again, the Japanese Destined had more ultimates and higher-evolved forms than other places, as well.

Above him, a Blimpmon cried out his name and sent in dozens of bombs that exploded upon Machinedramon's growing army. Several more Blimpmon passed after him. Legions of Guardromon and Blimpmon fired hundreds of missiles into battalions of Mechanorimon and Chaosdramon; several Tankdramon and Suijinmon opened fire on each other, explosions ripping through the city as missiles and shrapnel rattled the floor. A hailstorm of laser fire rained down around them.

In the sky soared hundreds of Yatagaramon, Airdramon, Devidramon, Kazemon, Flymon, and Gigadramon, blotting the dim, falling Sun and the faded, rising Moon. A GranKuwagamon blasted a Gryphonmon and Harpymon out of the sky with his Dimension Scissor attack. Hippogryphomon and Karatenmon bludgeoned each other with sharp claws and Heat Wave attacks and blade-cutting feathers. Three Hououmon cleaved through gliding infantries of evil Majiramon, Megadramon, and Mihiramon. Several Mothmon and Ornismon fired off missiles and energy beams at Parrotmon and Piximon. The high frequency of a Pipismon's screech destroyed the sensory organs of a few Ravemon. A dancing duo of Lotusmon and Rosemon severed the wings of more than a few Sabirdramon and Waspmon. JetSilphymon and AncientIrismon destroyed each other in a rainbow-colored blast that sent up several buildings in a mushroom cloud of flame and smoke.

Mere feet above his head, Davis watched a leaping Wendimon implode from a Vademon's blast. As charred flesh and bone pounded the ground around him, Davis reached up to block the incoming chunks with a shield of fire that burst and crackled in the air. Beside him, ExVeemon gave dark looks in Machinedramon's direction.

"Dark Masters, aye?" Davis looked at ExVeemon. "Always wondered what kind of enemies Tai's group fought. Guess we get to find out."

"We should let someone else take care of Machinedramon," ExVeemon said, still shivering. Davis gave his digimon a curious look.

"Why? Are you okay?"

"He should be dead. Permanently dead. Ryo and I... Ken..." ExVeemon bit down on his tongue. "Tch."

"What are you talking about?" Davis glanced toward his partner. Their expressions were lit-up by a nearby battle between Ebemon and Mistymon.

As the bombs exploded around them, as the din grew yet more and more violent, as the day passed, inside Davis's mind and even inside his heart there was a deep, still silence. What was it that Veemon kept from him? Veemon never kept secrets. He was Davis's fun, happy, go-lucky, optimistic partner, the one with no faults of his own, no deep dark pasts.

"My old partner destroyed Machinedramon," ExVeemon said, turning fully to Davis.

Davis's heart hammered against his ribcage. Old partner. But Davis had always assumed Veemon had been created for a specific purpose— specifically for _Davis._ All those eons ago, destiny sensed Davis's coming; Davis assumed he had been a part of this grand scheme involving Veemon, that the hand of fate had manufactured Davis a partner that was his and his alone. A legend, the impossible— and he was Davis's partner, Davis and Davis alone.

Maybe that was selfish and arrogant to assume. But when they told Davis that the armor digieggs were specifically created for Davis, Yolei, and Cody to bypass the the influence of the Control Spires so that their partners could digivolve, he'd thought that included their digimon, as well, since they had been sealed along with the eggs.

Had his partner not been his own real partner? What happened to Veemon's first partner?

"It happened a long time ago," ExVeemon whispered. Davis had never seen his partner look so grave. "A few years before you and I met," he continued, "When Diablomon attacked the real world."

Diablomon... Davis remembered that fight. He witnessed it on the computer. He remembered thinking it was such a weird virus, and why in the world could everyone else see it as well? Ironically, it was through that battle that one of his best friends, Yolei, became a Destined. It was weird to think that if she never saw that battle, the two of them would have never become such good friends.

Davis assumed Veemon had been sealed in that digiegg for eons, possibly since the beginning of the Digital World. The way the world spoke of it, the legendary DigiEggs had seemed... well, legendary, ancient; not new, not just a mere _few years old_ before Davis and the others inherited them.

But he supposed it made sense, didn't it? Ken was infected by the Dark Spore around that time. The Sovereign sensed the darkness rising in Ken's heart and prepared for the result by sealing away Veemon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon in the DigiEggs of Courage, Love, and Knowledge. It briefly made Davis wonder if the DigiEggs of Friendship, Sincerity, Reliability, Hope, and Light also had their own digimon sealed within them, but because the Destined had already inherited their partners, the Sovereign decided to leave those digimon sealed. How cruel a fate that would be, waiting for a partner that would never come.

Part of it reminded Davis of Gatomon. Hadn't something similar happened to her as well? But she found her partner in the end.

"I was resting," ExVeemon went on, "In a deep, endless sleep that had lasted so long... I think I might have died, Davis. I don't remember. I don't remember who I used to be, just that I used to be someone important. Someone great. And then I died for some greater purpose, and was reformatted into the DigiEgg of Courage, but I knew I wasn't allowed to hatch yet. So I stayed asleep. Then something – something dark, something... something _evil..._ awakened me.

"At first, I didn't know what it was. Who it was. Initially, I thought it had to be Diablomon. After all, his brother was running amok in the human world while another stray Diablomon was also causing chaos in the Digital World. At the time, most of the Destined were dealing with Diablomon in the real world so it wasn't as if I could call them to the Digital World. So I sought the boy named Ryo."

Ryo... Ryo, Ryo, Ryo. Davis searched his mind trying to think of where the name came from. It sounded incredibly familiar. He didn't think any of the Destined had that name. In the past five years, he'd gotten so well-acquainted with so many of the newer Destined throughout the entire world that he was sure he'd probably met him.

That was until ExVeemon said, "Ryo disappeared after it. People say he went to another world, another dimension. But I still remember the day we realized the Diablomon in the Digital World was only a trap set for Ryo... by Millenniummon."

The name alone sent quivers up Davis's arms, but he was sure he'd never heard it before.

"Millenniummon, the creator of the Dark Spores," ExVeemon explained, "Millenniummon, the time traveling digimon," he growled, "Millenniummon, conqueror of the future," he mourned, "Millenniummon, the jogress of Chimeramon and _that _Machinedramon!"

He pointed at the great metal Dark Master who roared into the darkness of the DigiPort.

"INFINITE CANNON!" Machinedramon bellowed.

Half a dozen energy blasts surged from the mammoth cannons on Machinedramon's back. ExVeemon grabbed Davis before he could respond and threw the both of them far off to the side. The blasts hit where they were standing seconds beforehand and completely obliterated it, sweeping up a fourth of the city in its wake, leaving nothing but a smoking trench behind. Davis and ExVeemon were catapulted off their feet by the aftershock. Davis watched the others fumble and get knocked right off their feet as well, but they were much further from the blast than Davis and ExVeemon.

For what felt like eternity, Davis went deaf. Sirens blared in his ears. He blearily reached up to feel the warm liquid oozing out of his ears. ExVeemon was shaking him violently, trying to snap him out of it, but his vision blurred.

_C'mon, Davis Motomiya..._ he thought, squinting, trying to clear away the clouds in his eyes. _Half your internal organs got smashed by JackieBitch, the ass-jackal. You've Enigma Evolved more times than you can count in the past six months... if ExVeemon can handle this attack, so can you!_

Trembling, Davis stood. The tumult swelled around him, with people and digimon screaming and running. Another explosion blossomed several roads away, shaking the ground beneath him. It wasn't from Machinedramon this time, it was AncientVolcamon and AncientBeetlemon. A chill permeated from the ground— AncientMegatheriumon, Hyogamon, and Icemon were battling on the other side of the city, turning entire roads and buildings and trails of sewers into blocks of ice.

A black aura surged around Davis's hands and eyes, swimming around his head. It pored into his mouth, his nostrils, oozing from his fingertips and exhaling out of his lungs. The blackness repaired his broken, bleeding eardrums barely enough to hear ExVeemon's voice calling out his name.

"Davis! Davis, can you hear me? Are you alright?"

"What did Millenniummon do to you, Veemon?" Davis asked, the blackness growing around him.

ExVeemon pulled away. "What?"

"To make you scared..." From the blackness came a dervish of blue and orange light. "...To make you too scared to tell me... to make you quiet... I didn't even know you met Ken before our own adventures... You never gave any sign of recognition, and neither did Ken; do you fear Millenniummon that much? That by saying his name, by acknowledging those events, it'd be like a bad omen? Perhaps you're afraid of triggering all those bad moments, terrified of the mere memory... You can't even say his name without shaking. What did he do to you?"

"It was what he did to Ryo, what he did to Ken and Wormmon... The Dark Spores were intended for Ryo, but it was Ken who got them instead. Millenniummon was to blame for the Digimon Emperor, and indirectly, the resurrection of MaloMyotismon," ExVeemon told Davis.

The black aura, the dancing blue and orange, submerged into a flickering flame. Bluish-white and orange and red fire, extinguishing Davis's face, his arms, his torso, his legs and feet— soon he was a moving ball of flame.

"Millenniummon was the strongest enemy the Digital World has ever seen in any reality, Davis," ExVeemon admitted. "...Entire dimensions united to stop him. The Digimon Emperor was manipulated by the Dark Spore's power to create Chimeramon in the dead Millenniummon's hopes of resurrecting himself one more time, though I doubt Ken even realized it. Time and time again Millenniummon came back to life... Ryo couldn't stop him until..."

"Until...?"

"Until Millenniummon revealed he was Ryo's true partner," ExVeemon said. "Throughout the ages, Ryo had worked with me, with Agumon, with _Monodramon_. All of us were ten times the partner to him than _Millenniummon, _who did nothing but try to destroy Ryo, his own partner. Millenniummon, who did nothing but conquer time and space, future and past and present, who spread havoc and carnage. Who only wanted destruction and tyranny. So Ryo made the ultimate sacrifice to end it, once and for all."

"He killed himself?"

"He jogressed his best friend, Monodramon, with Millenniummon." At this, ExVeemon finally looked Davis in the eye. "It ended Millenniummon forever. You see, Davis? Machinedramon can't be here, can't be like this. He can't fight us because he should still be jogressed with Monodramon— Ryo departed for another _reality_, another _time,_ he can't come back here anymore. Machinedramon should no longer exist in this world or this Digital World, Davis! Ryo gave up _everything_ to destroy him! His pride, his home, his _partner_! Millenniummon and the two digimon who create him – Chimeramon and Machinedramon – should still be with Ryo in that other reality, jogressed with Monodramon! So if Machinedramon's here..."

"Then something is very, very wrong," Davis replied. "And we should stop him before he can find a Chimeramon to jogress with again."

"Yes," ExVeemon agreed. "Otherwise we are all more doomed than we already were."

"Hold my hand," Davis commanded. ExVeemon did as was requested and gripped Davis's hand tightly in his own. It was hard, Davis's hand was so much smaller than his own.

Davis felt the ancient power of the Enigma Evolution run through him. It was there, all of it, eras and ages of indescribable, undiluted power, the secrets of evolution both natural and focused. As Davis tapped further and further into the pool of the evolution, he saw flashes of realities he didn't know...

...A red, jelly-like creature descending on a city and devouring it whole; the death of a Leomon, but not one he knew, this Leomon was the partner of a girl named Juri. He saw humans digivolving together with digimon to form even stronger digimon, digimon as strong as mega levels like WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon...

...Then he saw humans _becoming_ digimon— but how? He saw a blond-haired, blue-eyed digimon obliterate the cosmos, reaching toward another world, toward Earth, to consume it whole; but then he was shattered by the red-armored enemy, by the humans, who had digivolved together into one super-being. The blond-haired, blue-eyed angel-demon-type digimon looked so familiar, but he couldn't place how...

...Davis saw humans with molten megas facing a mammoth, demonic digimon of uncontrollable power that ripped apart the very boundaries between worlds in a glow of green light. Then they faced a white tyrant with power of creation and destruction stirring in her belly...

...In another world there were three humans, a girl with two ponytails, a blond boy, and a boy with goggles, using a process that reminded Davis so much of jogressing, yet it wasn't. The digimon were whole, merely using parts of each other to create a stronger core. Oh, the fiends they faced...

ExVeemon fumbled. He fell on one knee. "This power..." he whispered, nearly taking his hand away from Davis, but Davis clasped it tighter than before. "Davis, is this Enigma Evolution?"

Evolution of time, of reality and unreality combined, of realm and unity and space, of legend and the unknown and myth and age and youth. The true essence of the Digital World and Earth and the thin line which separated them from each other.

"Yes." The black aura swallowed ExVeemon whole. "Now it's your turn to Enigma Evolve."

In a flourish of movement, ExVeemon smiled, spreading his arms. An organic sack of black energy encaged him, exploding in a flurry of power that rushed over the rocks and the sediment and the concrete and the walling and the vehicles and the world itself. Davis would have been pushed back by the thrust of wind if not for the black energy also encasing him. The egg formed around ExVeemon, spluttering with black and orange and blue sparks, screaming and whistling against the reality of this world.

It took seconds. A fist chinked the inner-core of the egg. With a second pound, the shell shattered and clattered against the pavement. Data swam to the sky, swirling; a swiveling vortex of energy consumed the egg with what was once ExVeemon in the center. The sky rattled, the ground rumbled, the air quivered.

It took seconds for a mere champion to emerge not an ultimate... oh no, ExVeemon had skipped that stage.

If the point of Enigma Evolution's stage 1 was to give their human counterparts a boost in power so that they had the strength of a mega digimon, then stage 2 was to do the same for their digital counterparts.

"EXVEEMON ENIGMA EVOLVE TO..." Claws lanced through the tornado gales, sundering it as if it were solid matter and atom. Peeling away the wind, the new digimon's face peered through the muck and mire.

Blue, sleek, metal skin, with a black armored chin and a jagged orange mane of hair that flailed against the wind... Gold and blue and red and orange spectrums flashed brilliantly against his metal trappings, his yellow eyes...

The tornado of wind flared into a whirlpool of fire and lava and, beneath the ground, churned the pits of magma that erupted around him. Nearby Nightmare Soldiers screamed in agony as the earth's crust opened up beneath them and swallowed them whole, dragging them to the core of the world where they were incinerated into ash and nothingness.

Davis's partner tore himself out of the inferno and bellowed out to the entire world his real name:

"..._**DARKDRAMON!**_"

_We will change this reality,_ Davis thought, reaching to the skies, reaching to his partner soaring through the winds and the flame and the darkness. Black energy swooned about him, lowering and curling and unfurling. _So that the future is safe once again. I don't know about the other realities, but they're out there... and I know we can change our fate because I have seen them change theirs._

"TOGETHER, DARKDRAMON!" Davis boomed, his voice blistering like thunder.

"DARK..." Darkdramon began. Simultaneously, Davis raised his hands to the sky with him, fire and lava and stalactite and stalagmite churning in his hands as the stirring beneath him. "..._**ROAR**_!"

Together, the flame and the dark matter hurled through the streets, obliterating the pavement with it, destroying countless abandoned vehicles and buildings. Craterous trails dug deep in the earth were all that was left behind by the attack as it split the air around it.

Machinedramon looked up and watched the attack just in time to throw one of his own. "CATASTROPHE D!"

Hundreds of bright, sparking lights exploded from Machinedramon's back. At the same time, he grabbed at least a dozen more nearby Nightmare Soldiers – Guardromon, Mechanorimon, HiAndromon – and tossed them straight at the combined attacks of Davis and Darkdramon. Instead of hitting Machinedramon, they incinerated the digimon-shields Machinedramon threw at them. At the same time, Davis reached deep inside himself and waved his hand, manifesting a Trojan Wall of lava that cauterized Machinedramon's missiles.

"TERRIBLE GAZE," Darkdramon roared, staring into the missiles and destroying them before they could reach him.

Davis watched with widening eyes as the missiles threatened to descend and completely abolish Odaiba and all neighboring cities. "DARKDRAMON," he cried. Darkdramon nodded. Without hesitation, back-to-back, Davis and Darkdramon chucked dozens of attacks in every direction, aiming to explode the missiles before they could touch ground. A ring of fire lit up the sky and hailed shrapnel upon the city. A hunk of charred metal lanced through Davis's shoulder with a groaning shriek, sending him flipping backwards, soaked in blood and splintered bone.

Clenching his teeth in a hiss, he wrenched the shrapnel out and cauterized the wound, then flipped several more attacks into the sky. At least seven missiles leaked through their barrage of attacks, illuminating half the city in a raucous boom of electromagnetic force that hurled smoke through the streets.

"Shit." Davis and Darkdramon didn't even have a second to consider their next move.

"INFINITY CANNON." More missiles screamed toward them. At the same time, Machinedramon motioned to his legions of machine digimon who fired upon order. Hundreds of explosions sounded off, knocking Davis and Darkdramon several paces. Both of them caught their balance and skidded backwards, still facing their enemies as they summoned the energy to expel the attacks from the rest of the city. Davis reached out his hand, forcing the bombs to explode midair by triggering the chemicals inside of them. Darkdramon lurched through the din and jerked his elbow back for momentum.

Inches from Machinedramon's metal-encased skull, Darkdramon roared, "GIGA STICK LANCE..."

Simultaneously, Machinedramon roared, "BOOSTER CLAW..."

Both attacks struck their targets instantaneously. Machindramon's claws pierced Darkdramon's armored chest, Darkdramon's harpoon shredded the protective metal skin of Machinedramon's cranium.

"I won't... let you..." Darkdramon snarled, digging his claws in further through Machinedramon's skull, "...endanger this world... again... I won't let you ruin the life of another one of my partners..."

"CATASTROPHE D," Machinedramon bellowed. Deep inside Darkdramon's chest, Machinedramon set off hundreds of exploding missiles, incinerating his torso.

Darkdramon was blown off his feet and flipped through the air. The blinding light of the explosions encased him, making him disappear within their brightly flickering fire. Davis screamed for him, reaching out for his partner, but he knew he'd be too late.

As the explosions swallowed both Machinedramon and Darkdramon whole, Machinedramon threw his head back in a loud, rough, low-pitched cackle.

"What...?" Darkdramon's pupils shrunk. "You... You're laughing...?"

"Everything has changed," Machinedramon said in his computerized voice. "This world's future no longer aligns with the future I once conquered. The timeline is out of sync, nothing can be put right! Ryo is dead! He can't save you this time, Veemon!"

"You... you're lying!" Darkdramon screamed. Machinedramon laughed at him.

Explosions sounded all around him from Machinedramon's missiles. They were swept up in the debris, in the fire, in the pulse. Yet the two digimon continued, their voices rising, rising, louder than the din, than the fray, than the panic.

"HE IS NOT DEAD!" Bloody, wounded, half his torso destroyed, Darkdramon lunged at Machinedramon. "_DEMON STAB_."

A hundred lances launched forward. Their jagged points spiked straight through Machinedramon's metal barriers, piercing his chest, his head, blinding his eyes, shredding his shoulders and his legs. Machinedramon fell limp against the lances, his head leaning against one protruding from his thigh.

Still, as the explosions rung out surrounding them, Machinedramon's low, computerized voice snickered. "...You know... I don't lie... old friend... old enemy..." His wires sparked and lit up along with the explosions. "He does not travel through time anymore... neither do I... Time passes so differently between the worlds anyway... He lived a good life, you know... in that other world... but he grew sick and crippled by age... he's left us, left us both... you and me and Agumon... his frail human shell withered by those long years...

"How disappointing... If he had allowed me to stay as Millenniummon...

"He could have been immortal... My dear, beloved Ryo..."

Darkdramon was panting, stooped over, trying to keep his organs from spilling out of the wound in his chest. Groaning, he fumbled and reached out for Machinedramon. At the same time, Machinedramon reached out for him.

"Ryo wouldn't have wanted to be immortal," Darkdramon whispered. "He just wanted to be happy."

"He was happy," Machinedramon whispered. "_We_ were happy. Him, me and Monodramon... He and I, Monodramon and I... we were reborn as Cyberdramon, but when Ryo died, we divided. You should have seen him die, Darkdramon..." Machinedramon looked up at Darkdramon, peering into his yellow glowing eyes even though he was blind. Darkdramon could feel the ghost of his glare. "You should have been there."

"No," Darkdramon whispered, finally grabbing Machinedramon's clawed hand. "I was where I was supposed to be. Here. This world. This time. With this human partner, the one I was meant for. You can understand that, being with the human you were meant for."

"Yes..."

And the light glowing in Machinedramon's eyes trembled, then dimmed.

"Yes, and now... I am meant..." the light faded "...for no one..."

and Machinedramon burst into a cloud of ascending data.

"Darkdramon!" Davis called out. Darkdramon twisted in his direction, fumbling. He found himself no longer reaching out for the hand of one of his oldest enemies, but for his partner's, who, too, was reaching out for him. Both he and Davis had been heavily wounded in battle; Darkdramon could hardly move.

He got in about two steps before he collapsed. Two steps more than his partner, Davis fainted alongside him.

(-1010210-)

_Kari...?_

The darkness had him. Davis couldn't move; he was surrounded by it, caged by it. Seconds ago, he'd been perfectly awake and conscious, now here he was— knocked out and half-dead, his eyes squeezed shut, guided by none but shadows.

Maybe it was because they shared each other's souls. Maybe it was a delusion. All Davis knew was that, in that prevailing darkness, he could see Kari surrounded by a white light, guiding him through the blackness and into the bright.

"Kari..." He reached out for her in the darkness, but he touched nothing but air.

She smiled sadly at him. "I'm coming for you," she said. "I'm almost there, Motomiya. Hang on."

He smiled back at her, holding his shoulder. It hurt, but he wouldn't let her see his pain. She would know it already. "I'll wait for you," he replied, watching her white light fade into the darkness. "As long as it takes, I'll wait for you."

(-'**10201011**'-)

**Chapter Preview:**

- "I can feel it growing inside of me, greater than even the darkness. This power, this amazing power! I know who I am. I am the greatest digimon to have ever existed, to have ever digivolved!"

-"MetalSeadramon, my gluttony and my lust, my disappointment. Puppetmon, my wrath and my envy, my loneliness. Machinedramon, my greed and my sloth, my rage. And you, Piemon, my pride. My power. My leadership. Without your guidance, they will fall. Each of you are fragments of a much larger door to which I am the key. You cannot mend the door without all the scattered splinters."

- "We five are tragedy personified, aren't we?" "We are the ones who never mattered." "We are the ones who failed."

-"You would be surprised the kind of strength a second chance gives you."

-_"Psych._"

-"Who are yous? Yous trespassing on mah gardens! You ain't purdy like da flowas, they need mah care! Ophaaaanimon! Dis man on my garden!"

-"No one understands me! I'm too great! Too powerful, too magnanimousesous... None shall know my pain!"

-"You dun know me? You dun know **me**? Do ya live unda' a **rock**?"

-"My name is Piemon. And I've come here to serve you."

Tune into Act I Session XII: The Cataclysm of Apocalymon's Avatars!


	12. I&XII: Cataclysm of Apocalymon's Avatars

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Collapsing" by Demon Hunter

(-'010102000'-)

"I see the weight of hollow death residing in you

Take now your final breath

Exhale the truth

I see the fear of nothing left

Dead fragments of youth

You hold it in yourself

I feel it too."

—_Collapsing_ by Demon Hunter

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XII**

... Part VIII: The Cataclysm of Apocalymon's Avatars ...

_So cold..._

_So lonely..._

_All I can see... all I can feel... is the darkness..._

_Who am I? What am I?_

"You are Piemon."

_Piemon... I like this name. The Pierrot digimon. Yes. I can feel it growing inside of me, greater than even the darkness. This power, this _amazing power_! I know who I am. I am the greatest digimon to have ever existed, to have ever digivolved! The world will bow at my feet! But tell me, Voice... You know my name, but I do not know yours. How unfortunate. Who are you?_

"I am the myriad of despairing digimon who failed to digivolve. I am the creation of nightmares. I am the one who created you."

_Created me... so then you are greater than me. Any power that could create me must hold some greater ability. Impossible, how could anything be stronger than I? How can you be greater than I am?_

"I am you."

_But _**I**_ am me, how can you be me as well? That makes no sense! You created me, so therefore you cannot be me, because I cannot create myself!_

"You are a part of me. You are _all _parts of me. You are all parts of me, _Apocalymon._"

_Parts of the apocalypse?_

_Ah, yes. Now I see it. Curled in this darkness, this endless chill, I have never once noticed the stars had faces. Did you carve those faces so you would not be alone anymore? Have you made us so that we could be your friends?_

"The stars with faces are your allies. Machinedramon. Puppetmon. MetalSeadramon. I have made you all so that I may be released from my prison. It has been too long since I saw that world, those people, those who kowtow at the feet of destiny.

"The Council's influence is growing weaker and weaker in that world. They cannot keep me here for long. The new children have been summoned and soon they will discover the truth of their origins, just as I have discovered mine.

"Piemon, Machinedramon, Puppetmon, MetalSeadramon, souls of my stars, rise from your ashes, from your fiery and icy domains. You are not confined here, so you will fall like Lucifer to the world below."

_And then what will you have us do?_

"I will have you create me, as I have created you."

_You wish for us to create you?_

"Yes. So that I may create myself once again."

_And how will you have us create you? We are powerful, we four, but we do not have domain over the lives of digimon. Those belong to the Sovereign, to the Council. To the Angel Lords._

_Angel Lords... the mere name makes me shudder. I wonder... how do I know these names when I was not even aware of my own? If I have never escaped this cosmic darkness, how am I aware of anything beyond my creator, myself, and the faces carved in the stars?_

_But then again. I am my creator. My creator is I._

"Machinedramon will find Chimeramon, and the two will jogress. Millenniummon will be the result. He will find me. He will free me. And then he will drag you to the beginnings of time, when the Council first sealed me away, so that you may help them."

_And why would we help seal you, creator?_

"So that I may create myself— my current _incarnation_. The misery of the unevolved digimon ring through this silent space, empowering me... Oh the tears I have absorbed... I will never create myself – I will never obtain this kind of power – if I am not sealed here."

_So we will wander the world in your absence, waiting for Millenniummon to bring us back in time. As he brings us back in time, you will crush the world in _**our**_ absence. Back in time, we will aid your sealers in imprisoning you so that we can be created, so that we can release you. If you are not sealed here, your current incarnation will never be formed; and if your current incarnation can never be formed, we will never be born. And eventually, after we wait through the millennia for your return, after Millenniummon has unsealed you and brought the other version of us back in time, we will join your side as you bring this universe to oblivion._

"No."

_Oh?_

"Everyone will die."

_...How gracious of you to warn me._

"Human children will eventually destroy your comrades."

_Human children... what are human children? Some sort of digimon? Or one of the other sort... the sort who falls from the heavens, from the stars, like us. But their stars are different from ours. Their stars tell stories. Their stars create universes._

_Our stars destroy._

_Are human children the golems and homunculi in the robes? The ones who experiment, who aim to find links between realms? The ones who create?_

"Human children are monsters from another world. Neither digimon or the robed men, not made of light or darkness or dream or nightmare. They manipulate all worlds through their hearts, their emotions, their sins and their virtues. Dreams, nightmares, light, darkness, data, reality— humans have the power to bend all to their will, because all at once they are nothing and everything. They... are the rot of this world. We must destroy them all. Everything must be destroyed. Even your comrades.

"When they die, like stars, like Hououmon, they will rise from the ashes and be reborn, reformatted, reformed. Machinedramon will jogress with Chimeramon. Puppetmon and MetalSeadramon will not remember their former lives."

_And what of me?_

"You..."

_Ah, I do not like the hesitance in your voice, Creator. I won't appreciate this answer, will I? Tell me, I'll make it easier for you, will I never come back? Will it be the end of me? Will I have been created, summoned as the leader of your avatars, just to be destroyed?_

"**You** will not die. But..."

_But?_

"You will not live. You will be sealed between the worlds of data and the worlds of reality. You will be trapped there, as I am trapped here, for the rest of eternity."

_Ah, so that's the catch. I will break your shackles, just to form my own._

_How cruel._

"I will not apologize."

_Then maybe I will not release you._

"Then you will have never existed at all."

_Would existence be worth this? Worth it all just to float in the endless space, that silent hell, between dimensions? I will not do it! I will not release you, Apocalymon, I will not succumb to my fate!_

"You will, because it has already been set in motion."

_Hahah... Hahahahah..._

_How cruel... So brutal... So bitter... this fate of mine. Will you tell me when?_

"No."

_Then why create me at all? Machinedramon is the only puppet you need! He is the true you, the you who will free you! So why? Why create me just to let me live a fate worse than death?_

"Because Machinedramon needs you, heh." _You laugh at me?_ "He will be lost without you, without any of you. Alone, you are weak. Alone, you will all die before the proper time. But together, you are a force the Digital World has never before seen. MetalSeadramon, my gluttony and my lust, my disappointment. Puppetmon, my wrath and my envy, my loneliness. Machinedramon, my greed and my sloth, my rage. And you, Piemon, my pride. My power. My leadership. Without your guidance, they will fall. Each of you are fragments of a much larger door to which I am the key. You cannot mend the door without all the scattered splinters."

_So I am nothing... I have been created just to forever suffer..._

_Your pride? You think I care about your pride? Your pride is worthless to me! You've destroyed my happiness! I would rather let your avatars fall than be your pawn!_

"You **will** let them fall. That is the reason you are sealed, because without them, you, too, are weak compared to the human monsters."

_Again, I feel the cold. The loneliness._

"You are the reason they die."

_I do not like this world, this realm of blackness and despair and nothing. I am nothing. I am pain. I am despair. I am the black hole in the heart of men, so unexpected, so fragile. I have no purpose but to suffer the worst fate._

_I am responsible for the deaths of the only three creatures like me._

"Your neglect... your lack of care, of thought— your _pride— _that cold feeling in your heart will lead them astray. And one-by-one, as you withhold your guidance, they will be destroyed. It is in a time so far from now that you will not even realize you were their bane until it is far too late. Then when you are but one, you, too, will fall. Fall back into this darkness."

_I see now. How...unfortunate._

_We five are tragedy personified, aren't we?_

"We are the ones who never mattered."

_We are the ones who failed._

"We are the masters of the darkness in men's hearts."

(-'10120101'-)

Yanking out his Trump Sword of Hearts from the stomach of a moaning Makuramon, Piemon made his first move in the direction of Tai and Agumon. This would not be difficult. Surely they could not hope to defeat him. They barely managed to seal him the last time they faced each other, and their strength had not grown much since then.

Myotismon was dealing with the Child of Hope, so Piemon was not worried. Even if the Child of Hope wasn't distracted, sealing Piemon away would not help them this time. His allies had powers far beyond the powers of the Destined.

"How are you here, Piemon?" Tai called out, keeping his distance. "We didn't banish you to the Dark Area, so it's not like you could escape from there through that vortex."

"I was sent to a very dark area indeed, though," Piemon said with a smirk.

Tai actually smirked back. "What a joker. But don't think I've forgotten what you did to us. Things have changed since then, Piemon."

"Oh, haven't they just," he replied.

"Agumon."

"Gotcha. AGUMON DIGIVOLVE TO..."

"TRUMP SWORD." Piemon unsheathed all four of his swords and flung them at the enemy.

At the same time, a Raptordramon leaped out from the legions of digimon and threw himself before the attack. All four swords struck him at once, throwing him right into Tai's face. Tai tried to catch the dinosaur-like digimon, but it was much bigger than himself; he fumbled, merely slowing its momentum, and gently murmured the poor thing's name.

He glared up at Piemon. "Always killing... maiming... You never give up."

"I gave up once." Piemon rubbed his chin. "I'm not supposed to be here, you see. I should still be where the Heaven's Gate put me. But something's got messed up. This world's future is not the future destiny wove for it. Things are changing more than you can ever guess. Take a good look— this is the tumult defying fate creates.

"I have avoided my fate. I will not suffer forever. You would be surprised the kind of strength a second chance gives you."

"I know that feeling," Tai replied. "I've felt it more than once. It's powerful. But what's even more powerful is someone to share that second chance with. No one will give you a second chance— and you won't have the opportunity to attain a third."

_Hah! Big talker. But he's forgotten what I did to him the last time..._

"CLOWN TRICK."

Tai rolled to the side, avoiding the attack.

"You won't escape this time," Tai said, running in Piemon's direction.

"I have no intention of it," Piemon replied, pulling out all four trump swords from his back. "TRUMP SWORD."

"...GREYMON..." Agumon's DigiEgg burst open in a blast of orange light. "Nova BLAST." 

A massive sphere of flickering orange fire surged from Greymon's mouth. It caught Piemon's swords in a torrent of flame that crackled against the metal. However, the swords still emerged. Tai squeezed his eyes shut.

_**CRACK**_

One of the swords pierced his shoulder, another lanced through his stomach, the third impaled his leg, and the final caught him in his chest. Tai stumbled. Greymon rumbled forward.

"TAI," he called out. "NOVA BLAST."

Piemon jumped out of the way and yanked back his elbow. The Sword of Spades wrenched out of Tai's chest and flung in Greymon's direction. The other three soon followed, dancing in a ring around the tyrannosaurus digimon. Then, with a shriek, the swords plunged. Greymon knocked back two with his arm. A nearby explosion rattled the other two, redirecting them; the combined efforts of several Mechanorimon Azulongmon sent had thrown the swords out of whack.

Tai bent over, bleeding, coughing. His palm flattened against the ground. "If only... I had my Crest..."

"The fragility of humanity," Piemon chuckled. "So _weak,_ it's almost cute. Screw the Crest, if only you had a spare heart!" 

The Sword of Spades had pierced the human's heart. Tai grabbed his chest, still coughing, wincing. Piemon smiled victoriously, holding out his arms to embrace the skies. Digimon were rushing around him, legions of them bursting into fiery bombs, dozens tossing darkness and energy and matter and atoms that burst and bubbled and boiled upon impact. Piemon was in the heart of the battle, laughing.

A laughter that stopped when Piemon heard Tai laugh, too. That made him lift a lip in disgust. "What's so funny?"

"_Psych_," he said.

"Excuse me?"

Tai laughed again. Pressing his hand to his chest, he went on, "I thought you Dark Masters were supposed to be parts of Apocalymon. But if you were... you would know the power of the Crest stems from the power in myself... I don't need my Crest. It was just a tool to channel what I already had inside of me, something physical to help me believe in myself. The true power is inside me, sealed for years in order to release the Sovereign... but now they've given the power back. And I'm not afraid to use it. The only thing I need is my courage."

"Impossible," Piemon snarled. "It took Apocalymon the tears of hundreds of digimon to evolve to his stage. One idiot boy's _emotions_ can't possibly compensate for that!"

Tai's reply was another laugh that sent Piemon spiraling forward, spitting. "Oh, and one more thing..." Agumon began to glow bright, smoldering orange. Along with him, Tai's wounds also flickered with a orange steam that coiled around him. "Unfortunately, I don't have much offensive attack power. A lil super strength, sure," he said, the steam cauterizing his wounds. "But I do have invulnerability. Regeneration. You can't kill me that easily, Piemon."

With a last flicker, the wounds sealed and faded.

An organic sack of orange light swallowed Greymon whole. As Piemon processed Tai's words, the human leaped into action, tackling the stunned Piemon by his midsection. A GrandLocomon and several Trailmon crashed against each other, derailing the tracks and sending dozens of shockwaves tangling through the area. The Nighthawk attacks of a Mail Birdramon fleet howled against the wind as they approached hordes of Parasimon, Youkomon, and surfaced MarineDevimon. Ballistamon scooped up an IceDevimon and Infermon with the blinding boom of his attacks, obliterating whole chunks of earth and concrete. The cacophony of war roared around them.

"GREYMON DIGIVOLVE TO..."

(-01010201-)

"_And whos are _yous_?"_

_The voice hit Piemon's ears like a harsh hiss. Piemon was panting, sweat dripping down his brow, his tunic soaked to the bone. He could practically feel his pores pouring water from their glands. What happened? He reached into the confines of his mind, searching for the last moment before this that he remembered._

_Ah, yes. That was it. Millenniummon came. He unsealed Apocalymon. Piemon saw a flash – just a second-long – of a robed man with his face wrinkled by age and long suffering, beside him a Mechanorimon and a Centaurmon. Then there were other flashes. Eight small creatures, bipedal and anthropomorphic like Piemon, but tinier than him. Each of them had pale skin and hair atop their heads, but each hair was a different color, except for two males with blond hair, and two females and a boy with brown. They all looked similar, but... different._

_Were those the human children? Were they the ones destined to destroy him?_

_Then seconds later, Millenniummon tore him and his three comrades up from the faces in the stars, and sent them barreling down, down, down into another time, another space; a world they were unfamiliar with. The daylight burned Piemon's eyes. There was something soft and cool against his gloved hands— something green and long, sprouting from the earth— and these long wooden trunks that branched out toward the top, also touting green packet-like things containing veins and water. And there were smells... so many smells... Sweet, fresh honeysuckle and parsley and catnip, and the humid aroma of water and fallen rain. The heaven must have cried not too long ago, the green stuff beneath him was still damp and the smell hung in the breeze. But the sky was blue._

_Why was it blue?_

_Perhaps the oddest thing to Piemon was seeing a creature beyond he, his compadres, the burning stars with faces carved into them, and his creator. The creature that lumbered over him was bipedal and anthropomorphic as well, like Piemon, like those child monsters. Unlike Piemon but like the children, he also had hair, blond and long and tied in a ponytail behind his head. His eyes were cold and blue and made Piemon want to take a few hundred steps away from him, but the Dark Master stood his ground against the intimidating figure._

_Wings burst from his back. Black and demonic, white and angelic; they sprung and flecked with feathers and flicked in the daylight so gracefully, without harmful intent or malice. Though the figure exuded a presence unlike Piemon had ever felt before – something _great_, something _powerful_, something horrifyingly _beautiful_ – he didn't seem... angry. Hateful. Evil._

_But he did seem rather drunk._

_The digimon had rosy cheeks and a hazy look to his eyes. Except for his bobbing wings, his arms and legs swung around thoughtlessly, even clumsily. Several times Piemon avoided getting punched accidentally by the figure as he crouched over the clown, examining him._

"_Wellllll?" the wasted digimon demanded. "Who are yous? Yous trespassing on mah gardens! You ain't purdy like da flowas, they need mah care! Ophaaaanimon! Dis man on my garden!"_

_Ophanimon? What was an Ophanimon?_

_And while he was questioning things, what was this man?_

"_I'm... lost," Piemon admitted, looking around for the figure to emerge. But no "Ophanimon" appeared, even a couple of minutes later._

"_She never listens!" the blond digimon huffed. "Always out wit' Seraphimon and Cherubimon and ClavisAngemon... Aaaaaah, it ain't like she love me anymore! You know what I mean?"_

_He turned to Piemon. Piemon blinked. "Uh."_

"_No, you can't! No one understands me! I'm too great! Too powerful, too magnanimousesous... None shall know my pain!" the drunk, blond digimon exclaimed mournfully. Then, without Piemon saying anything in response, he burst into tears and flopped down on Piemon's face, knocking the both of them over. "No one understands me! No one CAN!"_

"_Uh..."_

_For all the things Apocalymon had prepared him for, this was not one of them._

"_Whos da shit are _yous_ again?" the drunk digimon demanded, still lying on top of Piemon, pointing his forefinger against Piemon's chin. His movements faltered and instead the forefinger ended up jabbing Piemon in the lip._

_Piemon grit his teeth and said as irritably as he could manage, "Piemon. And who are you?"_

"_You dun know me? You dun know _**me**_? Do ya live unda' a _**rock**_? ...Dun answer dat. 'Cause den I gotta pay for a house fa' ya and ClavisAngemon will get all up in mah business and I'll have to be like, 'Hey dis guy came in and din't have a home so why da shit shouldn't I give 'im one', ya know?"_

"_Focus! Who are you?"_

"_Lordy, Lordy! Ya really dun know! I feel so hurt! Here I thought we were friends, Piemon!"_

"_You're not my friend. I don't even know your name."_

"_You don't? Wait, what's _**your**_ name?"_

"_We've been through this, you drunken blathering buffoon!"_

"_Hey now, I'm da smartest digimon around. I just be drinkin' and smackin' some ho's... well, not really smackin' ho's. I just says dat 'cause it sound goooood. I dun smack hoes, that's a crappy ting ta' do."_

_Piemon smacked his palm against his forehead and gave a loud, low groan. After a couple of seconds, he did it all over again, then a third time, smashing it until he swore his forehead would crack open._

"_Damn, ya some angry guy, ya'd think I said somethin' wrong!"_

**CRACKCRACK**

_Two more smacks to the forehead._

"_Dun hurt yaself, den I gotta get Cutemon all up in here and he gonna be piiiiissed!" _**CRACKCRACK**_ "Okay, okay, jeeeez. Ya ready for dis? I... am da courageous, da almighty, da strongest warrior in the Digital World and da profound, da amazing, da—"_

"_Yes, yes, get on with it."_

"_No, ya let me finish 'cause dis is da best part. I am da amazing, da King of da Digital World, da enigmatic, da Great Angel Lord_

"**LUCEMON**_!"_

_Piemon stopped dead-cold. He fumbled to a stand, shoving the drunk, blond digimon off of him. "No," he muttered, holding one his temples, shaking his head. "No, you can't be. _You_? _**You**_ are Lucemon? Hell no. No. I can't... No. Just NO."_

_The drunk, blond Lord of the Digital World, Lucemon, grinned. "I am, fella. Sorry to disappoint. Oh wait. I am not sorry, 'cause I am da shit!"_

"_You? You, you arrogant, drunken, idiotic man? You cannot be him!" Apocalymon had spoken all about Lucemon, the leader of the Digital World's highest power. None were greater than he. No one knew where he came from or why he was there, there were no records of his training with the Angel Corps, no knowledge of his past or family or friends. One day, he simply showed up with GranDracmon, and ever since then, there had been an unbelievable rise of support backing him at every turn._

_He was the Digital World's greatest love, their favored one, their figure of justice and courage and peace. All hail Lucemon, ruler of the universe, leader of the Angel Lords._

"_Hey, hey, quiet it down, Bitchmon!" Lucemon yelled at Piemon. Piemon cringed, two seconds away from smacking him. But he held back his anger. For Apocalymon, he held it _all_ back. The desire to clobber Lucemon in the face. The desire to stab him in the heart, demanding to know how in the world it was he who managed to garner this kind of support. The desire to spew as many horrid, vitriolic insults as possible. "It is too early in da morning for dat kinda noise. An' I dink. Just dink. I may be sobering uuuuuhhhh..."_

_The reaction was simultaneous. Lucemon groaned and grabbed his head, faltering in his steps. With his free hand, he extended it out to Piemon and grabbed the virus digimon's shoulder to steady himself. Once he regained his balance, he looked up at Piemon with bloodshot eyes and a glazed-over look._

_Lucemon grunted. His tone lowered. "Who are you and what are you doing here? You are trespassing on Angel Lord Territory. You have thirty seconds to comply with my questions or I will be forced to... uh... guide you back outside."_

_Ah, there he was, the one Piemon expected to find. "I've already told you," Piemon replied, smiling daintily at the sobered king of lords. "My name is Piemon. And I've come here to serve you."_

"_Serve me? I don't have any need for that." With a grunt and an annoyed wave, Lucemon released Piemon's shoulder and turned around. "I have need for _Penicillin_, but no need for you. Ophanimon! Did you convince me again to drink more?" He was calling up into the halls of the grand palace, but no voice answered him. Lucemon was sighing and wincing, stumbling through the halls. Piemon followed him in the marble and gloss stone corridors. "I know you just want me to relax, but I have work to do today! I said one glass and one glass only!"_

_After shuffling about for a while, Lucemon called out again, "What, is this a game of hide and seek? Yes... Yes, you would, wouldn't you? Ugh. We're behind schedule again and you still just want to play games. But Cherubimon _is_ your best friend, so what could I expect?"_

"_Oh, pish-posh, Father," came a voice from the door beside Lucemon. The Angel Lord leaped in surprise and twisted around, glaring at the figure standing in the frame. Ah, Piemon thought, so that is an Ophanimon. For an angel-type digimon, she was attractive enough. Blond hair, blue armor. Stars that decorated the metal. Gold-tinted wings that splayed and gleamed in the sunlight. She looked like a mini-Sun, shining only for those who had the honor of looking upon her face. "Like you have any right to judge my dear Cherubimon."_

"_I _do_ have the right to judge _our _dear Cherubimon, Mother," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest, giving her a very stern look. "All Dominimon does day in day out is sleep. There's only six of us in the mean time and we're far too behind for you to be getting me drunk! How do you even manage to convince me every blasted time?"_

"_All Dominimon does is sleep, and all you do is work!"_

"_And that is why I rule the world!"_

"_All work no play makes Lucemon a dull mon," Ophanimon sighed, leaning against the frame. If Piemon could see beyond her helmet, he was sure she would have been rolling her eyes. "Come now, Father. We will get our work done. But you did have fun in the meantime, didn't you?"_

_Begrudgingly, and hesitantly, Lucemon muttered, "...Yes. I think. But you should really make sure I stay away from civilians when I'm like that. They always think we'll be the best of chums afterward."_

"_You would be that chummy if you'd loosen up. Now..." She turned in Piemon's direction. "Who is this lovely specimen?"_

"_Oh, him," Lucemon grunted, eyeing the figure. "I'm not sure. I don't think I like him, though. He seems... funny. He was just there when I sobered up. Said his name is Piemon."_

"_Yes, after you assaulted me with a climb and a bear-hug," Piemon added._

_Lucemon's cheeks actually reddened. Piemon held back a snicker. "I apologize," Lucemon said with a cough. "What can I do to compensate for the inconvenience?"_

"_I would like to serve you, Lord Lucemon," Piemon replied, kneeling on one leg. "I have come a very long way. Both you and I... we are very similar, my lord. We have both been to the stars and seen their faces. And fallen from the heavens."_

_Lucemon paused. His brow furrowed. Ophanimon stood upright, no longer leaning against the frame. She walked to Lucemon's side and peered down at the kneeling Piemon, then turned back to Lucemon. "Father, what is he talking about?"_

"_With all due respect, Mother," he replied, "It is a private issue. Now please leave us."_

_Ophanimon glanced between the two of them, then said, "With all due respect, Father, I won't leave you."_

_Lucemon bit back a snarl, but knew he didn't have time to counteract her comment. Instead, he rested a hand on Piemon's shoulder and said, "Fine. I will welcome you." Bending down so that they were eye-to-eye, something in those cold blues shifted. Not dangerously. Not angrily. But softly, like the river of a current in the night, fierce and unrelenting at times but so gentle and refreshing at others. "I welcome all who travel such great distances. Did you fall from... _my _star?"_

"_No." Piemon smiled. "But I empathize. That is why I chose you. Shall we, then?" Piemon motioned to a nearby door, although he didn't rise. "I'll remain by your side however long you'll have me, Lucemon."_

_Lucemon eyed Piemon one final time, then nodded. Ophanimon looked wary. Piemon did not care. She was beautiful and bold, but it was not Ophanimon Piemon was concerned about. She was not the one he needed to know, to get close to. It was Lucemon Piemon wanted. Lucemon who Piemon needed._

_Lucemon who was like Piemon. A digimon who had been thrown from his home and into another world, a digimon whose fate was worse than death. Lucemon may have ruled a kingdom on this Digital World, but soon his kingdom would wither, and he would be catapulted into a world even more gruesome than this, where he would be imprisoned for longer than any could remain sane._

_Soon, they would be Angel Lord Lucemon and his right-hand Piemon. Never separated._

_At least until the five children came..._

(-'**1020102'**-)

-"It will take more than a few _tricks_ to beat me. CLOWN TRICK."

-_**CRRRAAAACK **_"I thought you were invulnerable, boy!"

-"I... am... the Dragon Emperor."

-"Even if I die, it's still better than what I had. And at least I can bring you down with me."

-"You can pride yourself on your mega evolution, you can pride yourself in your strength, you can pride yourself in getting this far. But no matter how hard you tried, it was never enough. Not even your mega evolution was enough. You still failed, failed, and failed again."

-"PENDRAGON'S GLORY." "DARK ROAR." "GOLD RUSH." "MOON SHOOTER." "Hand of FATE." "RED SUN." "TWIN BEAM." "DESTRUCTION GRENADE." "GATLING MISSILE." "SCHWARZ STRAHL." "ASHIPATORAVANA." "EMPRESS HAZE." "ASURA SHINKEN." "HANG ON DEATH."

-_"_This was not what was supposed to happen... She was our only hope... This was not what AncientWisemon prophesied!"

-"This isn't what I wanted."

**Tune in next time to Act I Session XIII: Piemon Defies!**


	13. I&XIII: Piemon Defies

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Sad Romance" by Nguyen Xanh Tao

**Author's Note:** So this story has already reached over a hundred pages and we're not even to the halfway point yet. But I just wanted to point out that the hundredth page was devoted to Piemon meeting Lucemon, teehee.

(-'010102000'-)

"Tut, I have done a thousand dreadful things

as willingly as one would kill a fly,

and nothing grieves me heartily indeed

but that I cannot do ten thousand more."

—Aaron, _Titus Andronicus, _lines 141-144

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XIII**

... Part IX: Piemon Defies ...

_It was raining when they found her body._

_Piemon did not see her until they had already wrapped her in white. Red stains bled through the silk, staining it. Blotches of scarlet blared out in the gray early morning, set against the innocent white, the tuft of golden-colored hair that protruded from the sheet covering her face. Or, at least, what had at one time been her face, before it was smattered into bits and pieces by the impending fall._

_Piemon peered upward at the eave of the cliff. It soared over the shore and carried to the heavens, a white lighthouse perched on the very tip. Bright light poured over the murky, mist-strewn ocean beneath, hued by the storm into a dirty brown and foggy green. It seemed a peaceful place to die, but an awful place to mourn._

_As Piemon approached her body, he heard the sand and gravel crunch beneath his feet. With every step, his shoes sunk into the grainy layers, barely registering where they went. He carried himself as if he were gliding over a cloud, up in the skies, away from this sight, away from this world. Not even the forest above them, bowed over the ledge of the cliffside, could bring his mind an ounce closer to the ground._

_Piemon's Lord stepped next to her body and leaned forward. His trembling fingers reached for her face, briefly removing the white sheet hiding her. Tenderly, the Angel Lord stroked what little was left of her cheek, then ran his fingers through her tangled hair. At one time, that gallant mane of golden tassels had shined like the lion corona of the Sun, now tinted red by the blood which caked her corpse._

_Only a few sounds registered in Piemon's ears: The ocean waves clasping at the beach, tearing away another sheet of sand. The creak of the lighthouse high above their heads, hinges squealing on their axles. The chitters of a group of Monmon, Apemon, Gorillamon, and Makuramon who had gathered in the canopy to watch them, their faces scrunched up, tears in their eyes... But the sound which registered most in Piemon's mind was the voice of his Lord as he finally pulled his hand away from the human girl's hair._

_Lucemon was wailing._

(-1020101-)

"Sorry, Piemon...!" Tai said as unapologetically as he could, knocking Piemon to the ground. Stunned that the human boy had decided to take matters into his own hands, Piemon barely had enough time to block the boy's fist as it bulleted in his direction. Tai struck with enough force to knock Piemon, still on his back, skidding backwards. "...I think your second chance is going to waste!"

"What, and you're the one who's going to waste it? Please! Such arrogance! I feel embarrassed for you!"

Piemon unsheathed all four swords. Tai felt a surge of energy pulsate in his chest, then flood his veins. He held up his arms, aiming to deflect the attack.

(_Faces flashed before Tai's eyes. His sister. His parents. Agumon. Matt. Sora. TK. Izzy. Davis, Mimi, Joe, Yolei, Cody, Ken, and all the others._)

Three of the swords impaled him. Two in his right leg, the other through his ribs. Gritting his teeth, Tai caught the fourth and rushed in Piemon's direction. Piemon snarled in the most inhuman way possible as the Destined approached.

Tai's grin hadn't wavered a bit, even through his clenched teeth. He was frustrating the digimon. Good, after all he had to put up with it was worth it.

"Give that back, you pest."

"Why? It wasn't like you were doing much with it!"

Piemon hissed, flicking his wrist.

As if a string attached the two, the sword struggled to return to Piemon, but Tai's grip was relentless. Charging at the mega digimon, Piemon pulled out the Sword of Clubs – Sword of War – and parried it with Tai's Sword of Spades – Sword of Fire. Immediately, the metallic blade burst into a glowing orange light that deflected Piemon's lunge, then went in for Piemon's open side. Piemon caught himself in time and blocked it, then knocked Tai's sword aside in a saber-stab.

Tai jumped back, dodging it, and swiped vertically toward Piemon's head. Unsheathing the Sword of Diamonds, Piemon crossed the two swords over his face and caught Tai's sword before it could cut him.

The two struggled in that position for a minute. A battle of physical strength.

Chuckling, Piemon's lips pulled back in a smirk mirroring Tai's as he said, "So you know a bit of the art."

(_Kari and the others were taking a picture, but Tai wasn't in it. Maybe he was the one with the camera? No, he was watching it happen. Kari, ever the photographer, had installed a camera with a time limit. Setting it, she rushed back to the front of the group just in time for the light to flash. But where was Tai? Everyone else was there, the parents and the siblings of all the Destined, so why hadn't they invited him? Was it that he was no longer needed...?_)

Flashes of memories crossed Tai's mind. A plane departing Odaiba, headed toward France. Windswept blond curls that twisted between his fingers. Sweet smiles matching sweet words as tiny, delicate fingers held a cutlass... demonstrating how the most seemingly delicate things could show themselves to be the most deadly.

He wasn't a pro. But he had a good sensei. Catherine might be the quietest, shyest girl Tai knew, but there was no doubt that she could wield a foil unlike anyone he ever knew— and if there was one thing Piximon taught Tai all those years ago, it was how to be a good student.

Tai pressured the blade against Piemon's. "Yeah, I know a few tricks."

"Hah! Well, it will take more than a few _tricks_ to beat me. CLOWN TRICK."

Tai rolled away just in time to avoid the white cloth. Instead, it fluttered over a couple of Piemon's own Minotaurmon and Callismon. What emerged from the white sheet were two keychains that immediately twirled around Piemon's fingers. He smiled. "Well, not what I intended but it'll do!"

With that, he catapulted the keychains in the air. They struck an unexpecting Tai between the eyes. His opponent now open, Piemon went in to deliver the coup de grace.

(_No... No, Tai would always be needed. Even if his purpose no longer coincided with theirs, he would still at the very least be wanted. In his nightmares, Tai would watch Matt and Sora walk into the distance, holding hands, their backs turned to him. For the longest time, he was terrified that their union would leave him alone. His two best friends, together— him, without them. But they would never leave him._)

_**CRRRAAAACK**_

The blade tore through frail human flesh and tangled in Tai's internal organs, burst blood vessels and veins and bone. His sternum crunched against the impact and broke apart to allow the chinking metal to force its way further inside. With a laugh, Piemon flicked his wrist. The two other blades in his arsenal plunged. Over and over again, they stabbed at his arms, his legs.

Tai's grasp weakened on the Sword of Spades. It clattered to the ground at his feet. Then, trembling at first, it, too, rose, and dragged its stained sharp silver up his hip.

"I thought you were invulnerable, boy!" Piemon cackled, wrenching the Sword of Clubs out of Tai's chest and plummeting it right back inside, this time just an inch from the previous hole. "So much for that!"

"Heh... heh heh heh..." Tai, too, laughed alongside Piemon.

Piemon faltered. "You shouldn't laugh unless you mean it. No one likes a faker."

"I do mean it," Tai snickered. "You're trying so hard, it's cute. Go ahead. Cut me, as many times you like. Go on."

"I will, thank you! TRUMP SWORD!" All four blades soared through the air and struck their intended target.

Tai was blown off his feet by the force. The swords pinned him to wooden wreckage behind him, debris from one of Machinedramon's attacks before he, too, ended. Tai bent over to cup his knees in his hands, panting. He could taste blood in his mouth.

"TRUMP SWORD."

All four impaled him through the back, lancing through spine and cartilage and shoulder blade. Tai threw his head back in a silent scream.

"TRUMP SWORD."

Through the ribs, the abdomen, the heart they all pierced, rendering him to his knees.

"TRUMP—"

(_Tai saw Kari smiling at him_.)

He smiled back.

Piemon was interrupted by Tai's own cackles.

Curling his lip in a disgusted frown, Piemon said, "Have you gone insane with agony, dear boy?"

"You don't get it, do you?" He lifted one leg, his foot flat on the ground. "This can't..." He lifted the other, "...kill me..." He could feel the energy rushing through him, consuming him, blaring in his ears, beating against his broken ribs, piercing his eyes and gouging his ears. "You can cut me, but I won't die!"

The Enigma Evolution inside of him was alive, and it was screaming.

Flashes of the worlds came to him. Azulongmon carrying a raven-haired human child on his back. Another Metal Greymon from another universe, this one with purple and black skin, with metal spikes jutting out of his tail, taking orders from a blond boy. Flashes of worlds where humans became digimon. Flashes of five figures sitting on thrones of diamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald, and amethyst, guarded by five magnificent beasts, one of which was Azulongmon himself. Flashes of Oikawa swarming the Digital World in the form of butterflies, restoring the weak, healing the injured, nursing the sick. The five figures on their thrones laughing.

He saw the flash of a woman with gold-colored hair and almond-shaped eyes that blazed like a hawk's.

He saw the flash of a corpse hidden beneath a rain-soaked white sheet stained red by her blood.

Orange light burst from Tai's eyes and ears and mouth and nostrils. His hands spread out on either side of him, his palms glowing hot, his skin gleaming against the heat. Rising off his feet, he began to hover toward the heavens. Piemon stumbled back, almost tripping. Tai motioned toward him.

Shrieking, Piemon's arm ripped open in a maelstrom of blood and bone that splashed against the white cloth he'd used to transform people into keychains. Clenching his teeth, he moved to strike at Tai, but stopped dead cold in his trek when he saw the blood-splattered cloth.

"I have Enigma Evolved," Tai said, pointing at Agumon's glowing-orange DigiEgg. "And so will he!"

"Enigma Evolution...?" Piemon clenched his teeth together. "No, you can't do that! It's impossible!"

"Enigma Evolution makes all things possible," Tai said, now pointing his finger at Piemon. "It is the power to rewrite reality itself."

Piemon was blown off his feet by an attack he could not even see. Looking up, he realized it was because Agumon's DigiEgg had finally chinked open, revealing a storm of orange energy that billowed around his form. Countless digimon – Fugamon, Ponchomon, Pumpkinmon, Salamandemon – were swept up in the mounting gales that rumbled the very skies themselves.

He had to return to Kari. He could not afford to make her wait. He'd already lost her so many times, and failed as her older brother to protect her, that he couldn't bear the thought of making her face this battle alone. Not again. She and the others were relying on him to do this, to make due.

The tornado of orange energy sundered, a bright white light beaming out of the crack in the wind. A face emerged, then claws, then red scales. White spikes jutted from his shoulder, his cranium, his jawline, his snout. Horns formed a crown atop his head, expanding like his massive Caledonian wings welded with Chrome Digizoid, each one spanning ten times the digimon's size. A massive tail at least twenty feet long trailed behind him, whipping forward like a serpent to wrap around Piemon's neck.

Piemon half-winced, growling, his feet dangling in the air.

Smoke billowed out of the nostrils of the beast as it emerged from the energy, a lance – the Ambrosius Lance – pointing in Piemon's direction. Its black surface gleamed against the vortex light and the glowing orange of the energy torrent, screaming, crackling.

"I... am..." said the voice of the beast, gurgling, growling, "...the Dragon Emperor... I am...

..._**EXAMON**_...

"AVALON'S GAZE!"

The black Ambrosius whistled through the air as it plunged deep into Piemon's chest. There, it took root and fired off hundreds of special bullets that ricocheted across Piemon's heart, splintered his ribs, and demolished his lungs. At the same time, Piemon crippled with pain as the sting of the attacks rained down on him. The special bullets— they were loaded to the brim with viruses, each other taking effect immediately.

Piemon moved out his hand, watching the way his fingers twitched, eyes widening.

Piemon fell to his knees, holding the wound in his chest, quivering.

"No..." He reached up to grab his temples. "_No..._ This can't be happening to me... Not to me... Not again... TOY WONDERNESS."

He swiped his hand, forcing a gale of wind to rip into Examon. The digimon flung backwards, but kept his balance and fired off another bombardment of bullets that struck the ground in front of Piemon. Piemon wrenched his swords into the air and used them to shield himself.

Heaving, Piemon got to his feet and unevenly stepped in the direction of the massive Odaiba ferris wheel. It was one of the few monuments of the city to still remain untouched and unmarred; with all he had left in him, Piemon shot to the tallest cart and steadied himself there. Then, spreading out his arms, he called out, "ENDING SNIPE." 

At least ten massive, stirring balls of magic manifested in the air around him, each sphere as large as himself. Examon had joined him, now aiming to pierce him again. Tai was approaching. Piemon laughed.

"Even if I die, it's still better than what I had," he muttered, "And at least I can bring you both down with me."

"That won't happen!" came a voice below. Piemon looked down with an acidic glare at the sight beneath the ferris wheel.

There, they were all gathered, the victorious.

Davis and Darkdramon were leaning against each other, bleeding profusely, but alive— and in serious need of medical attention— but _alive_, and there, and ready to defend Odaiba against one of its greatest attackers. There, beside him, was Cody and Digmon, Ken and Stingmon, TK and Angemon, and a very woozy Yolei holding up an even woozier Halsemon. But they were there. And they wouldn't go down without a fight.

And behind the Destined?

Whole battalions of Mechanorimon, Guardromon, Andromon, Dobermon, Antylamon, Babamon, Asuramon, and Jijimon, all aiming their latest attacks at him.

Piemon nearly faltered.

But Tai hadn't quite commanded them to fire yet.

"Admit it, Piemon," he told the leader of the Dark Masters, "You can pride yourself on your mega evolution, you can pride yourself in your strength, you can pride yourself in getting this far. But no matter how hard you tried, it was never enough. Not even your mega evolution was enough. You still failed, failed, and failed again."

"Shut your trap, you little brat," Piemon snarled, but it was too late.

"PENDRAGON'S GLORY." Examon.

"DARK ROAR." Darkdramon.

"GOLD RUSH." Digmon.

"MOON SHOOTER." Stingmon.

"Hand of FATE." Angemon.

"RED SUN." Halsemon.

"TWIN BEAM." The battalion of Mechanorimon.

"DESTRUCTION GRENADE." The battalion of Guardromon.

"GATLING MISSILE." The battalion of Andromon.

"SCHWARZ STRAHL." The battalion of Dobermon.

"ASHIPATORAVANA." The battalion of Antylamon.

"EMPRESS HAZE." The battalion of Babamon.

"ASURA SHINKEN." The battalion of Asuramon.

"HANG ON DEATH." The battalion of Jijimon.

Brilliant beams of black, orange, tan, gray, yellow, and purple surged from the Destined and their partners, hurling in Piemon's direction. Fire, jagged spikes made of earth, vines, and tornado winds struck Piemon simultaneously with the other attacks. His blood quivered beneath his skin. Tai's fists were seen in the flurry of explosions and energy. All of the attacks struck at once, severing Piemon's final force, smothering his voice as he cried out.

His clothes and scalding skin burned away, his mask incinerated by the attacks. His swords melted into his bubbling, boiling flesh. All that remained of Piemon was a charred corpse falling through the air, descending from the highest row of carts on the ferris wheel.

The ferris wheel above was scorched and black and turning to ash.

(-10120101-)

_Lucemon was wailing._

_He bowed his head over the young girl's chest, his face soaking in her blood, his fingers reaching for what little of her remained after such a steep descent. The dead human girl from another world, destroyed._

"_Apocalymon is responsible for this..." Lucemon snarled, looking up from her carcass. When Piemon didn't respond, he retched in Piemon's direction. "Apocalymon did this!" Lucemon buried his face in his hands. "This was not what was supposed to happen... She was our only hope... This was not what AncientWisemon prophesied!"_

_How unfortunate. It was as if the girl had truly defied her fate, but in the worst possible way. Piemon watched Lucemon stoop over the girl for a while. He thought maybe he should exit the area and allow Lucemon some alone time, or maybe request Ophanimon's presence to sooth him... but no, Piemon's absence would do nothing to settle Lucemon's pain, and Ophanimon was as much of a wreck as Lucemon was. All the Angel Lords were. And soon the world would join them._

_Piemon thought about the wine Lucemon liked to drink. He always said he'd only drink one glass, but one glass usually meant ten. If Cherubimon decided to join him, there was no hope of sobriety for hours on end. Cherubimon had a habit of drinking far more alcohol than Lucemon could dream of consuming. But in one of those bright early mornings, after the crown of the Sun had risen above the horizon and Lucemon woke to Piemon setting his breakfast on the bed stand, Lucemon asked Piemon why he stuck around._

_It wasn't as if Lucemon paid Piemon for his services. Lucemon never spoke kindly – but simply with cold restraint – to Piemon, and he hardly ever addressed Piemon's presence. Piemon told Lucemon he stuck around because he saw something in Lucemon that he also saw in himself. Lucemon accepted this conclusion without question and from then on, Lucemon treated him with a gentle sort of warmth._

_One time, Lucemon invited Piemon to dine with him and the six other Angel Lords. They sat at a table, the eight of them, eating and chatting and discussing the silliest matters. Piemon would have never guessed that such prestigious digimon could speak so candidly about things that did not matter, like which chocolate bars were their favorites, whether they preferred Rosemon or Lotusmon (Ophanimon was all for Rosemon— "It's the physique," she'd admitted with a smarmy grin, "Such heaving bosoms!"), or if they would prefer Dogmon as a companion over Labramon. Piemon had never quite had such an experience, but from that point on he was invited (mostly by a grinning Ophanimon or a snickering Cherubimon aiming to piss off Lucemon) to dine with them every time they gathered._

_Eventually the other Angel Lords invited their own guests. That was the first time Piemon saw his old companions since their descent from Apocalymon's realm. Machinedramon, seated beside Dominimon (who had begun drifting off asleep again at the table for the third time, a biscuit in his hand; Machinedramon nudged him awake). Puppetmon and Cherubimon were laughing over something a Cherrymon said, gobbling up whatever pork and beans and trout and ambrosia they could get their hands on. The only missing companion was MetalSeadramon, but Piemon knew he would see the fiend again soon; after all, GuardiAngemon was mourning the slaughter of his clan, done in by MetalSeadramon's fangs._

_That was also the night Piemon met the highly-regarded General Angemon and General MagnaAngemon, who were the guests of Seraphimon and Ophanimon. An Etemon who rather annoyed Piemon also felt keen to sit beside stuffy and ancient ClavisAngemon; how in the world those two got along, Piemon could never figure out, seeing as they were polar opposites— but ClavisAngemon seemed to enjoy Etemon's energy because he sighed and nodded along with the conversation rather than turning away as he usually did in conversations he had no interest in. Later on, twelve godly figures entered the room and more chaos followed._

_Not long after, six _other_ figures would join them at the table. The six other figures were wanderers, traveling across the Digital World, protectors of its gates, so they could not always gather with them. But when they did, it was quite a treat._

_It was moments like that, gathered around that table and discussing such trivial matters, that Piemon thought of as he stared down at sobbing Lucemon._

_His movements clumsy and unsure, Piemon reached out and rested his hand on Lucemon's shoulder._

_Lucemon flinched at the touch, but didn't pull away._

"_You can't seal him away," Piemon whispered. "Apocalymon."_

_Lucemon lowered his hands from his face and peered up at Piemon. "What do you mean?"_

"_The star I fell from... it was from his realm," Piemon confessed. "I know him."_

"_And you never thought to tell me?"_

_Piemon tip-toed around the issue very carefully. He could not tell all without losing his head; he'd probably already lost a lot of Lucemon's trust just from admitting the smallest bit of his true past. But he had spent perhaps one-tenth of time with Apocalymon than he had with Lucemon. "Apocalymon's prison is what makes him strong."_

_The human girl defied her fate. Maybe, just maybe, Piemon could avoid his own troubling finale._

"_By sending him there, he reaches new levels of power... Lucemon, listen to me. If you have the remaining children seal Apocalymon away, if you aid them in that, Apocalymon will use the negative emotions of the Digital World to empower himself even more. He won't stay there forever. He'll _escape_, more powerful than ever before."_

"_How do you know this?"_

"_Because he sent me to make sure it happened." Piemon looked down at the dead child. "But this isn't what I wanted."_

(-1020101-)

_I see now..._ Piemon thought as he fell through the air, approaching the ground beneath, growing closer and closer. He wondered if that was what the human child felt like as she plunged to the earth, the air sucked out of her lungs. Piemon smiled and closed his eyes.

_That space they locked Apocalymon into... it has no rules of time, it plays by no science. It is all times and no times, all eons and none of them at once. Someone who is thrown into that dimension in one age can emerge from it in another age, despite being inside that dimension for what felt like seconds._

_Millenniummon never came for us. I just assumed he had when I ended up in the Digital World's past. But all he did was break the seal. We Dark Masters simply fell from the seal when it broke and landed in the past of the Digital World._

_Apocalymon lied..._

_I was not sealed forever in that space MagnaAngemon sent me to... because the dimension he placed me in was the same seal which imprisoned Apocalymon. Apocalymon knew that when MagnaAngemon sealed me away, I would be sealed there just as he was._

_He knew I would feed on the negative emotions of digimon who could not evolve high enough to suit their dues, the negative emotions of digimon who failed. On failure itself. Because I had failed to defeat the human children._

_And then I would become Apocalymon himself. I would make another Piemon like myself, then his companions like Machinedramon. Wait for Millenniummon to break the seal. Let Piemon and the Dark Masters fall into the past. Emerge back in time to confront the Angel Lords, then be sealed away again just in time for the new 8 Destined to destroy me. It would feel as though the Council had sealed me for less than a second before the 8 Destined emerge in my dimension. Then they would destroy me just in time for the Piemon I created to take my place as MagnaAngemon sealed him away. He'd be recovering in a dead star, cold, alone. And slowly over time the negative emotions would stir inside him, awakening him, and he would find the power to digivolve from those emotions. And the cycle would start anew._

_I am Apocalymon._

_Not just his avatar._

_I am he._

_He is I._

_And Apocalymon could not bear to let me know my true fate._

_And now that I have been released by the Endless Ones, that cycle has been broken... and I may finally, truly escape that prison forever... The worst punishment of the Council, how could they be so cruel to me? But now the horror is over..._

_I can rest..._

_Maybe now I can be reformatted and start anew. A true second chance._

(-'**01020100**'-)

**Chapter Preview:**

-_"Seraphimon,"_ the voice whispered.

-Seraphimon screamed.

-"This is nothing... compared to what is coming..."

-_**MOVE, GODDAMMIT.**_

-"Mimi." "Go, Joe."

-"You know Phase One. But you know nothing of what ungodly horrors await you beyond that."

-And that was why he laughed.

One arc ends, another begins... Next Chapter: **Saga I Session XIV- The Endless Ones**


	14. I&XIV: The Endless Ones

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "O Death" by Jen Titus

(-'010102000'-)

"I close my eyes, then I drift away, into the magic night I softly say. A silent prayer, like dreamers do, then I fall asleep to dream my dreams of you."

—Roy Orbison

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XIV**

... The Endless Ones ...

The King of the Endless Ones was dreaming.

In his dreams, he saw many things. Most of them flashes of a past he no longer believed in. He saw an elderly male digimon coil like a serpent around Gennai, then dissipate in a flash of brilliant, blinding white light, riding on the tailcoat of many royal attacks. He saw a massive red reptilian digimon vanish in a sea of gray water. He saw his black-leathered, gun-slinging companion vanish as a cone-shaped blade shattered his ribs in one fell-swoop. He saw the great slumbering giant chained and sealed and dropped into a world where he had no mind, no consciousness of his own, no spirit or rage but that of other humans; the great slumbering giant, made a puppet. He saw the blond-haired, blue-eyed angel-demon king descend into a madness most great, and die against the bludgeon of dragon and crusader. He saw one final smile of his great angel, the once-blond beauty now blackened by hate and lust, as the final alphabet letter blew the both of them to hell. Then the blue dragon grabbed the Endless King, his great, magnificent wings billowing against the winds, and the vortex surrounding them pulsated and gravitated, and next thing he knew, he was somewhere he did not recognize.

The only thing he knew was that he was all alone.

In his dream, a hierarchy of angels fell from the stars, burning and smoldering as they descended through the atmosphere, the faces they carved into those great scorching spheres of gas and flame and crust fading into dust. Lucemon, fallen ruler of the fallen angels, leading his fallen comrades to their untimely end. Seraphimon, Cherubimon, Ophanimon, tainted by the vampire's fangs. Dominimon, jolted awake. ClavisAngemon, unable to unlock the Zenith so needed to end the misery. GuardiAngemon, unable to protect.

And a rush filled the King of the Endless Ones then; he was standing beside his General Angemon, and Ophanimon and her General MagnaAngemon, the four of them staring up at the cosmos and admiring the silver twinkling of the stars; he sat at a dinner table with his fellow lords, accompanied by Piemon, Machinedramon, Puppetmon, MetalSeadramon, and Etemon, as well as Angemon and MagnaAngemon. Twelve Olympic Gods sat themselves down nearby. Back then, he hadn't much humor, but the combined efforts of Ophanimon, Piemon, and MagnaAngemon always managed to make him crack a smile. Etemon and Puppetmon would make many attempts that failed miserably, but their utter failure usually produced amusement for their companions at least. Gennai with his children, the Vampire King, and their five partners joined them at the last moment, bearing gifts from the other side of the planet, laughing and singing and joking and dancing.

And then the King of the Endless Ones dreamed of her. The human child with hair made of gold and eyes like a hawk's. Her cheeks were dotted with freckles, her rosy lips pulled back in a nervous, unsure smile, her hands clenching and unclenching with a frantic jitter. Her gentle but dithery voice called his name, almond-shaped eyes blinking with their soft amber hue that blared like the bronze stars, before she, too, disappeared, like all the others.

"_Seraphimon,"_ she said once. And then he watched her fling herself off that cliff, her hand reaching toward the sky, flying, soaring. She could see the lighthouse stooped over the edge of the rock, its light bold and beautiful. But the hawk-eyed girl did not have hawk wings so she couldn't fly, so she fell, like the hierarchy of angels fell, and also like the hierarchy of angels, she died.

Seraphimon was there that day when they discovered her body. He was the first one to see it. He thought it the oddest thing, that she hadn't turned into data and fluttered to the sky like all digimon do. That she could not simply be reformatted and reborn in Primary Village. He thought it the oddest thing, and the cruelest. Could those who did not die understand those who did? At first, forever ending seemed an incomprehensible thought. Sometimes digimon took years, decades, even centuries to be reborn in Primary Village. Sometimes an error occurred in the reformatting process so they were transferred to a new server – or another world – and could not be reborn in their original Digital World. But to forever die?

Seraphimon glided to the lighthouse above her corpse. He stared out over the ocean waves. He'd gone numb, almost blank. It was Lucemon's wails that brought him back to reality. To the crashing waves. The squealing hinges of the lighthouse. The coos of the creatures in the forest beneath him.

Lucemon and Piemon did not know Seraphimon was there, watching them. As Piemon reached forward with tender hands to comfort Lucemon, Seraphimon thought to look away. Piemon was Lucemon's friend and Seraphimon had appreciated what little time he'd had alone to mourn her passing away, so he thought he should give the same to Lucemon.

But then he heard Piemon's words. Piemon, a servant of Apocalymon? Piemon, who they had let into their lives, their homes, their hearts? Piemon, sewn into their souls and spirits like the human child beneath them, dead?

And that was why Seraphimon laughed. He didn't laugh in that lighthouse as he listened to Lucemon and Piemon scour the details of Piemon's allegiance; he didn't laugh a day after that as they held the dead child's funeral; he didn't laugh years after that as he gobbled up entire villages and nations, yum yum. But he did laugh now.

"Seraphimon," called a voice. At first, he thought it was the dead carcass calling out for him again.

In the dream, he descended from the lighthouse and approached the bloody sheet-strewn corpse. He admired the way the gray clouds reflected off her golden curls of hair, how even dead she had the ability to mesmerize whoever laid eyes on her. Then he pulled down the covers over her face and stared into the half-chunk that was the only thing remaining of her head. It had bits of her chin and nose, and even an eye that was rolled-up and staring up at the lighthouse with a veined, dull look. Talons of hair protruded from the chunk, just enough to splay over the sand outside of the sheet, but beyond that chunk lied a mess of splattered blood and fleshy clumps and splintered organ.

In the dream, he stared down at the corpse. His chest tightened again. How could he have allowed this to happen? She was his responsibility. All of them were his – _their_ – responsibility. He had failed her. He had failed them. He had failed the entire Digital World.

In the dream, he heard a crack and a snap beneath him. He crouched to better view the body. _**Crkcrk**_. The sound grew louder. A sound whispered to Seraphimon, light and gentle. _"Seraphimon,"_ the voice rasped, louder and louder. _Crkcrk_.

In the dream, her only remaining eye flickered away from the lighthouse and landed on Seraphimon. He stumbled back, but her hand – severed from her wrist by the impact – grabbed onto his ankle, tripping him.

In the dream, Seraphimon screamed.

In the dream, the golden-haired hawk-eyed prophecy girl screamed with him. She screamed his name. His true, real name, the name she had never known him by but the name everyone else now called him. She screamed it to the skies, to the lighthouse, to the world. _**DEMON**_.

"Demon?" the voice called again, stronger this time. "Demon, it's time to wake up."

Then the dream faded away, and the King of the Endless Ones – The Wrathful Demon – _**Demon**_ – was staring into the six eyes of his fellow brethren, his fellow Endless Ones.

The Dreamless Dreamer, lord of R'lyeh, captor of light, Dagomon.

The Goddess of the Moons, Dianamon, the left-hand general of the fallen Ophanimon.

The Soul Sucker, Bagramon, jackal and demon lord and seducer of souls.

"Demon," Dianamon continued, her fingers tightly entwined with his, stiff from his slumber. "You'll want to see this, my sweet peach."

"How can he even sleep at a moment like this?" Bagramon said with a snicker. Dianamon, too, giggled, then cleared her throat and frowned.

In the Depths of Nowhere, there was a great white mirror suspended over the awnings of a black plaque. The Depths of Nowhere themselves stirred in the core of the Dark World, churning like the belly of a volcano, with windows that saw into the heart of all people. Billions – trillions – of double-pane glass windows stretched into every direction, feeding into the world, into the universe, into the universes.

The mirror was the soul of these windows. Through this mirror, the Endless Ones saw all things.

And in particular, they saw Piemon descend from the Odaiba ferris wheel, reaching for the heavens like that one child had reached for the lighthouse before she hit the ground and splattered. His data was dissolving. The once-white ferris wheel was now scorched and charred, falling to searing and smoking bits and pieces. Cinders and ash swept away the winds, the bedim, following him as he fell.

For a moment – just a moment – Demon, the Lord of Wrath, felt a wave of catharsis.

The death of Piemon, of the Apocalymon who never was, had finally come into being.

And that was why Demon laughed.

(-1020101-)

"Birdramon!" Mimi cried, reaching out for the bird-type digimon as Mara sucked them back inside the flat using her tentacles of sand. Her arms had literally morphed into gliding pillars of sizzling, gritty grains that whipped them through the air. Mimi flung against a nearby wall, her skull crunching against the wood. She heard Izzy and Joe call out her name, then grabbed her temple where she felt a hot, sticky substance.

Her sight wasn't blurry, though. She didn't feel dizzy.

Birdramon screeched and sent a bombardment of flame up Mara's arms to her face. She entrenched her fingers into the flames and tossed them up to the ceiling, where she smothered them with more sand that spiraled out of her shoulders.

"What is she?" Matt said through clenched teeth.

Sora winced, feeling along her arm where the hunk of glass had split skin. "Maybe a Destined?"

"But then where's her partner?" Izzy asked, helping Mimi to her feet.

"In here," the woman responded. The Destined's brows furrowed as they watched her pat her belly. "I swallowed it whole. Yuuuummmm! Tasted like martinis and Spam! ...Now you'll get to join my partner, in here. You'll melt from the acid and be digested through my intestines. I'll absorb your nutrients and you'll energize me. You know how it goes— foodchain and everything. I'm just one link higher than you."

Sora grit her teeth and peered at Matt, who had clasped her hand tightly in his own. "Sora," he whispered, "I know you don't want your mother to see you this way, but..."

"It's okay," she said, glancing to her mother who stood behind her, paralyzed by shock. "You know what Tai would say if he was here. He'd have us use everything in our arsenal. No holding back."

"No holding back," he repeated.

"Sora, wait," her mother whispered, her voice breaking. She reached out and grabbed Sora by the shoulder. Unfortunately, her mother grabbed her injured arm and it made Sora bite back a hiss. Mrs. Takenouchi quickly apologized and let go. Silence fell between them for a few seconds. In the background, Garurumon and Togemon let off a blistering combo of needles and ice that shattered beams of sand. As Ikkakumon fired off a brigade of missiles, Sora's mother finally spoke. "I know what you'll have to do. I know I can't hold you back. Ever since you were little, when these adventures first started, I had to learn to let you go and watch your back as you face these horrors all on your own, knowing there was nothing I could do to help you.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry, and I love you, and please, please be careful. He might still be out there, Sora... You might be able to find him, if you really try... But if you go searching, please, _please_, return to me someday."

"Mom, why does it feel like you're saying goodbye?" Sora grabbed her mom's hand as well. She'd felt something familiar to this. It was a little less than a decade ago, but the wound was still fresh in her mind. She'd had a similar conversation with her mother then, as Sora departed Earth for a second time, this time to face the Dark Masters and Apocalymon. Her mother had been watching over her during her journey, but the fact still remained that she was useless in saving her daughter's life, in keeping her safe.

At that moment, neither of them knew whether or not Sora would survive. And this moment, this time, it was the same.

But Sora was not departing for the Digital World.

"Just in case," Mrs. Takenouchi said with a small smile, leaning forward to plant a light kiss on her daughter's forehead. "I never know when you're going to be in mortal danger and when you're going to come out fine. So for now, just in case— I have you in my thoughts." She kissed Sora's forehead. "I love you." She kissed Sora's cheeks. "I'll miss you." She hugged her. "And even if I have to wait forever, I know you'll come back to me."

Sora's eyes widened.

To think... when her mother first arrived and the world went to Hell, she had been furious with Mrs. Takenouchi, demanding to know the real identity of her father, careless of her mother's true feelings. But here her mother was, at the end of the world, kissing her, hugging her, telling her how much she cared and how much she believed in her daughter's strength.

Truth be told, Sora did not feel strong. But maybe that was what _made_ her strong, that moment of feeling unsure, of hesitation; perhaps it was what made her human that also made her a Destined. She was not a god, not some cosmic entity from beyond the stars. Maybe that was what made her such a powerful asset to the Digital World— that she was not all-powerful, that she was not an event but a catalyst.

_But this time,_ she thought, leaning forward to lightly plant a kiss on her mother's own forehead, _this time, I do have power. I have been given this gift so that I may help the world._

_Just as I did when I was a little girl, I will do again as an adult._

_I'm not all-powerful, but there's no way I'll let that stop me from protecting my mother, and my real father— the father who _raised_ me— the father who was there for me regardless of genetics— Haruhiko._

Sora felt a warmth fill her chest. The emblem of her Crest of Love softly glowed over skin and bone. She held out her hand toward Mara, who was dancing between a charging Birdramon and Ikkakumon. Garurumon howled and hurdled toward the human-shaped conundrum. Sora felt the power of Enigma Evolution sizzle inside of her.

Mara's shadow twitched. Mara hesitated and took a second to glance away from her opponents and toward it. It twitched again, echoing movements that weren't her own. With another flick of Sora's wrist, the shadows split into three.

"Oh, great," Mara huffed, just in time as one of the shadows launched at her as well, cackling. They converged on her, claws ripping at her face; but every time she made swipes for them, her hands simply fell through as if they did not exist. "Ahhh, Yggdrasil damn you!"

She pointed her palm at Sora, her lips widening into a skeletal smirk. "Looks like I'll just have to aim for the puppeteer."

"You'll do that," said Matt, stepping in front of Sora, his Crest of Friendship gleaming blue on his chest, "And I'll do _this._" 

Metal screws twisted out of their hinges and pierced Mara in the face. She flipped back, feeling along her flesh, wincing. "That's not very nice..." she whispered. Sand flopped out of her face and slopped over the floor. Her face caved in, forming a new face, healing the wounds. "I could have been killed, sweetheart... And careful, you wouldn't want that to happen. Not to me."

"And why not?"

"Because there's more than one soul inside that body," Izzy calculated. Realizing it was his turn to tap into that infinite well of time and space, he nodded toward Sora and Matt and motioned toward Mara.

Matt's brow furrowed. "And how do you figure that?"

"From little comments by her and Gatomon." Izzy gave a speculative glance. "Either that, or she just likes poetry. She very well could just be delusional, in which case I'd recommend medication. Joe's a doctor, but a therapist would be the best kind of doctor to figure out what type of pills you'd need."

Mara laughed. "There's a difference between nuts and just evil, kid! In your opinion, I may be both— perhaps a bit more evil than insane— but to me, I'm righteous, I'm sane, I'm logical! _I'm_ the good guy, my ethics just don't match yours! Now shush... let the sandwoman put you to sleep."

Izzy motioned his hand. Sora and Matt's computer whirred. The television crackled. Mimi's iPod flickered on. She blinked and took it out of her pocket.

Sora and Matt grinned. Joe shoved his glasses up the bridge of his nose, frowning. "It's technopathy."

Izzy thought about Gennai... how far the old man had come, how differently he'd been acting lately. As if the past was finally catching up to him, as if he were witnessing the ghosts of dead friends.

The computer surged to life. The television and a nearby radio combined together, the radio forming a head and the television forming a base. Izzy opened a digiport. A vortex whirled around the screen, sucking inward, hands reaching for Mara, for her unflawed face, for her legs, her arms, her body. It wanted to consume her whole.

She bit down on her lip and ripped the floor up from underneath her, forming a barricade. Swiftly, she punched a hole into the wall and grabbed hold of a pipe, then flicked her hand in Izzy's direction.

"No you don't!" Sora called. Both she and Birdramon fired at the same time: fire and shadow whirling together in a surge of energy that struck Mara's arm before she could fire her own attack at Izzy. The radio-head television stirred, then stood on legs made of stereos. A nearby electric fan wrenched its chord out of a socket and formed an arm, while a video game platform and controller remote formed the other arm. It moved in Mara's direction, each step heavy and weighted, reaching outward with its video game arm.

The television screen flickered on. There was a smile in the belly of the electric beast.

The sound of static filled her ears as the radio buzzed at the head.

Mara laughed. "Marvelous... just _marvelous_... hahahah... hahahah!" Stretching out both arms, she twirled in a circle. Twin beams of purple molten energy shot out in a barrage of heated magnetic pulse. They shot in every direction, destroying the electric beast, the computer, striking Izzy and Sora with hard force and knocking Matt against a wall. Mimi grabbed Joe by the back of his neck and pushed him down to the ground before ducking herself, barely managing to dodge the attack.

"Mimi, what are you— oh, thanks," Joe said, clearing his throat.

She gave a small, nervous laugh. "That was close!"

"Not close enough!" Mara screeched, pointing the beams for each of the humans.

"NEEDLE SPRAY," Togemon cried.

"HARPOON TORPEDO," Ikkakumon called out.

"ELECTRO SHOCKER," shouted Kabuterimon.

Simultaneously, Mimi and Joe's faces snapped in Mara's direction. They held out both hands. A torrent of water burst from the ground underneath Mara's feet while a tree stood on its roots and burst into the room with its branches, aiming a bough for the center of her face. Joe's water and Mimi's nature hurled toward her simultaneously, all five attacks hitting, knocking the woman off her feet.

She stammered something beneath her breath, something about Gatomon, and smacked her palms against the walls to catch herself. Her heels slamming into the paint, she ran along the side of the apartment and made a great leap in Togemon's direction. Her fist screamed as purple energy crackled around it. _**CRACK**_. Togemon flung into Ikkakumon and Kabuterimon.

She turned in Mimi and Joe's direction.

"It'll take more than silly little games to harm me," Mara said. Her voice was low. Rumbling like thunder. Like the lightning which traversed the vortex stirring above them and delivered her from on high. "You are but two souls in two bodies. Inside me stirs a cauldron, and the power which transcends Enigma flows from within it. You know Phase One— it allows you throw around attacks like some sort of digimon. But you know nothing of what ungodly horrors await you beyond that. You don't know what you're doing, what you're becoming by welcoming this power into your body."

"Is it you?" Joe asked, crouched against the floor, Mimi holding him down. "Are you the horror?"

Mara stared at him. The fire and ash of the incoming battle flecked the glaze of her eyes with a fierce smile. Her expression then reflected her eyes. "The horror you'll become will be far worse than me. The horror you'll become will be enough to rewrite the future, rewrite destiny, to change the very boundaries of the world and reality."

"Then let's get to it," Joe said, sitting up and taking off his glasses. He shined them against his grimy shirt, which in turn only smudged them more. "Anything to change this... to stop this from happening again..."

"To save the ones we love..." Mimi echoed, standing, offering her hand to Joe. "To save the worlds we've devoted our lives to protecting..."

Joe took her offered hand. "We are destined to save them. That is one thing that won't be rewritten."

Mara pointed to the window. Entire blocks of the city had collapsed. They could see beyond their wary city to broken roads and fallen bridges, an ocean in disarray; armies of digimon, mechanical and beast and anthropomorphic and angelic and molten and filth and toy, marched through the streets. Part of the city was eclipsed in ice, another part in fire. Mammoth digimon taller and wider than any skyscraper battled within the core, toppling towers and bombarding brigades. The white ferris wheel crumbled in a brilliant deluge of flame and smoke. Odaiba was devastated.

The Battle For Odaiba had only begun, and already it was a city no longer theirs. Even if the humans won this war, Odaiba would never be the same. It would not be the hometown they grew up in, the hometown which contained the memories of so many powerful moments. Battling Myotismon and VenomMyotismon... Discovering Gatomon and Angewomon... Agumon and Gabumon digivolving into WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon... Wizardmon... Sora making amends with her mother... Mimi bidding her doting parents goodbye, showing them how much she'd grown... Joe taking responsibility as the oldest Destined... Matt and Sora trying to stop Phantomon from taking Kari, Matt witnessing the murders of Gotsumon and Pumpkinmon who just wanted to have fun... Izzy confronting his parents over his adoption...

A city of memories. Gone.

"And what will you save?" Mara lifted a lip. "A scrapheap? Wreckage? Debris? Corpses?"

"We'll save that, too," Mimi said, trembling.

Joe was trembling as well. But it wasn't out of fear or astonishment. "And we'll save everything else."

Sora and Matt, grumbling, bruised and scraped and damaged by Mara's earlier attack, began emerging from the wreckage. Sora shook off bits of rock and walling from her shoulder. She'd shielded her mother from the attack, but at the cost of her own skin. Her arm – the same one that'd been damaged by the glass – was roasted. Her skin was black and flayed. The edges of it that weren't charred instantaneously popped with pus-filled blisters that stung as they burst.

Sora bit back a hiss. Her mother screamed and reached out for her, but Sora pushed her away. "I'm okay," she said in a hoarse voice. "It doesn't hurt."

"The nerves were damaged," Joe muttered, his brow furrowing. "Sora—"

"I know," she whispered, rising from her place. She stumbled. Matt helped her; he'd managed to block most of the attack with a jet-stream of metal beams that took most of the brunt, but his singed hair sent trails of smoke toward the ceiling. Sora almost laughed. Almost.

She knew what Joe would tell her. If she couldn't feel the pain of the burn, her nerves were most likely destroyed. Her arm was completely useless— if she got to a hospital in time, would they have to amputate it? Or would she die? She could feel the blisters popping. The heat which radiated off her raw, red skin on the edge of the charred part was enough to make her head feel hazy and heavy. As she stood at full height, her vision blurred and turned white then black for a second.

Adrenaline. Enigma Evolution.

They were the only two explanations as to why she hadn't fainted yet.

"Mimi."

"Go, Joe."

Without another word, Joe rushed toward Sora.

With a shriek, metal slid through the floorboards in-between Joe and Sora. Joe skidded to a halt and tore his eyes up to see Mara standing above him, hands still arched from where she threw a metal beam Matt chucked at her... separating Joe from Sora.

Sora winced, trying to grit her teeth to stop herself from fading out. She didn't think there was much left in her to keep going.

_Who is this girl...?_ Sora thought again, bending over and holding back the impulse to hurl. There were moments of time scattered throughout her mind; moments of throwing herself in front of Biyomon to protect her, moments of feeling worthless and weak, moments where she could do nothing as those she cared about most were taken from her. Her mother. Digimon fallen at the hands of the Dark Masters. Sacrificing herself to save TK and Kari from Piemon, and would her sacrifice had been for nothing if not for MagnaAngemon?

It felt like that right now. Her charred arm was a weight that held her down, an anchor that stopped her from sailing forward. A weakness. Something human.

_But I'm not quite human anymore..._ The Enigma Evolution pulsed through her. Generations of power – generations she did not even think existed – coursed through her veins. Generations of Destined who did not even exist in her realm, Destined whose experience now fled through her and made her move... move... move... _MOVE._

Mara launched at Joe. "GOOD DOCTOR, BAD DOCTOR!" she howled, swiping claws made of sand and purple energy at Joe's throat.

_**MOVE**_

The impulse grew.

_**MOVE**_

Sora's legs bolted without her realizing it.

_**THERE ARE NO LIMITATIONS ANYMORE**_

It was screaming in her mind.

_**DON'T STAND BACK**_

She was more than human, she was Destined— her humanity had given her this gift. She couldn't let it be for nothing. She couldn't let Biyomon suffer. She couldn't let her mother lose her. She couldn't let Joe get hurt.

Flashes of the blue-haired boy with glasses, standing beside a blue-eyed boy with blond hair, shot jolts through her limbs.

Joe hadn't let her fall.

_**NO CAVE CAN CONSUME YOU**_

She couldn't let Joe fall either.

_**MOVE, GODDAMMIT!**_

It happened in a split second. She didn't feel it, but blood splattered her face. Mara's claws sliced through Sora's bad shoulder, pinning her to the wall behind her. At the same time, Sora twisted on her heel, redirecting Mara away from Joe. Using the force of Mara's hand through her shoulder, Sora swung the woman into the wall and flattened her palm against Mara's face.

Digging fingernails into skin, Sora sent a beam of black energy surging into Mara's face.

Mara screamed, smacking Sora's hand away as her skin turned black and oozed with mildew gray fluids. (_I'm not worthless_.) Sora bit back a growl as Mara's hand shredded her bad shoulder. (_I'M NOT WORTHLESS._)A red glow burst from Sora's charred appendage and burst down her hand. (_I CAN'T FINISH YOU WHILE I'M PINNED._) She heard the others moving toward her, but they would be too late. Knowing there was no other way, Sora yanked her shoulder in the opposite direction of Mara's claws.

There was a pop. A snap. The skin was already tender, like well-cooked meat, and it wasn't difficult to pull it off.

Giving Mara her useless limb, Sora dodged Mara's incoming attack and rolled on the ground, coming up behind the woman to hurl a pulse of red light in her direction. Immediately, following the light, the shadows created by the silhouette flickered into view and – dozens at once – lunged at her, surrounding her before forming black blades with their arms and plunging them deep inside Mara's chest.

Both Mara and Sora slumped to their knees at the same time, panting.

Sora, now with one arm.

Mara, whose face caved in like her chest.

"Sora!" Matt called, reaching to touch Sora's face.

The world flashed black and white. Her eyelids drooped. The heaviness in her head intensified and, losing what adrenaline might have kept her going, she felt herself fall, fall into Matt's arms.

If she lived or died, it didn't matter— all that mattered was sending a message.

Mara was obviously not normal. Did not have normal weaknesses, or a normal mindset. But Sora wanted her to know— her, and her superiors, her masters and comrades— that the Destined were strong, too. That they would give anything for each other. That it was their friendship, their love for each other which made them strong, and they would not go down easily.

No matter what happened, they would not lose hope and sink into that darkness, that hate, that void which had at one point consumed Sora. They would sacrifice everything to keep each other afloat. To cut the anchor free and sail forward. To soar high, and never come back down.

Mara fumbled to a stand. As Sora's vision slipped in and out of focus, she saw Garurumon and Birdramon pelt attacks at Mara. Joe, Matt, Mimi, and Izzy were crowded around Sora, trying to help stem the flow of blood. But it wasn't this that Sora saw last.

It was Mara spitting blood, but alive.

Breathing.

Glaring at Sora through the corner of her eye as she built a Trojan Wall of sand to protect her from the champion digimon's assault.

Then stepping to the hole in the wall and gripping it with her fingers. They elongated in the air, her nails scratching along the jagged frame, her face peeling in a smile. She leaned forward, looking over the city.

Sora felt Joe working furiously over her wound. She wouldn't be surprised if she went into shock any second now.

"This world is ours now," Mara said, letting go of the wall to reach out in the air, the bare wind, the dark wind. "Fight it all you want... You won't win."

Sora gave a breathy chuckle. With her remaining arm, she flicked Mara's shadow upward. It clawed at Mara's heels. At the same time, Matt and Joe reacted; metal beams jutted out of the walls while water surged out of a pipe in a kitchen sink. Mimi and Izzy struck simultaneously, electricity hurdling out of the sockets and a tree branch whipping in Mara's direction. Garurumon, Birdramon, Kabuterimon, Ikkakumon, and Togemon each fired their own attacks.

They all hit Mara at once.

She buckled for a moment in thin air, one arm still clinging to the wall. Her eyes peered up at them, her head tilting to the side. But the most unnerving part was that her smile hadn't wavered. Smoke billowed around her flailing body, needles and ice chunks protruded from her cheeks and shoulders, her hair was smoldering and her face looked like black ash. But she was still smiling.

"Time to find them," she whispered, her fingers loosening on the wall. "Gatomon..." An inch more. "Kari..." Her nails scraped against the pane. "_Cody_.

"This is nothing... compared to what's coming..."

And she fell down the side of the building to the ground beneath.

Then Sora blacked out.

(-'**010201'**-)

**Chapter Preview:**

-"She'll be okay," Darkdramon echoed with his gruff voice, though he could barely hear it. Cody didn't seem to believe them either; but that was okay, he and Cody shared something, something all the others here couldn't.

-"I think I love you."

-_**"You must not die yet... Reality is at your feet, ready to be bent. Time to DigiVolve."**_

-"Ker-thump. Ker-thump, ker-thump, ker-thump..."

Next Chapter: **Saga I Session XV- Dreams of You**


	15. I&XV: Dreams of You

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" by Ingrid Michaelson

(-'010102000'-)

"The mice which helplessly find themselves between the cats teeth acquire no merit from their enforced sacrifice."

—Mahatma Gandhi

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XV**

... Dreams of You ...

"We beat 'im..." Yolei whispered, her eyelids drooping as she watched Piemon's descent. He slowly dissolved in the sky. "We beat 'im, Hawkmon... we..."

She collapsed against the digimon. She heard him call her name, but it blanked after that. She was sure he followed her not long afterward. Both of them were equally injured. Was it her partner's voice she heard calling her name, or was it someone else's voice? Someone crying for her?

It was the oddest thing. Yolei had never hesitated to cry before. She could be selfish and irresponsible and careless. She hated having to do more than she wanted to, or to put in more effort than what was required. Sometimes just putting in the required effort was enough to make her whine.

But in that moment, even though she had given up everything to stop their opponent, she hadn't shed a single tear. She hadn't asked why she had to wake up.

She didn't even wish things had turned out differently, because in the end, she was able to help stop Piemon.

And she was sure without a doubt that her partner felt the exact same way.

(-1020101-)

"Yolei!" Ken called out, but Halsemon got to her first. She collided against his hide. Too weak himself to carry even his own weight, Halsemon fell to the ground with the purple-haired girl atop him. A loud _**thud**_ echoed, followed by a deafening silence.

Davis was panting, leaning against his partner. He bit down on his lip. "Are they okay?" he called out, but no one replied.

Ken rushed to her side, lightly shaking her, then bending over to check Halsemon. They were breathing, but for how long? Cody was at his side in seconds, checking her pulse.

"She needs a doctor," Ken whispered, trying to carry her on his back.

Tai rested a hand on his shoulder to stop him. He looked up at the older boy, who nodded in the direction of the hospital.

It was completely abolished, left in shambles. Smoking remnants remained barreling toward the sky. Giants trampled over its remains, scattering patients and doctors alike who had survived the crash.

"No," Ken whispered, fumbling, nearly dropping her in his hurry to get there. "_No_."

"Azulongmon said he'd be sending in Cutemon, Ken," Davis said gently, helping Cody heave Halsemon to his feet. "They can heal injuries."

"I don't think anything vital was hit... but... I'm not a doctor, so I could be wrong," TK said quietly. He was tired. Months of restless sleep and endless training had put dark rings under his eyes; after the battle which had cost him Devimon, the rings were more pronounced.

"She'll be okay," Darkdramon echoed with his gruff voice, though Ken could barely hear it. Cody didn't seem to believe either of them; but that was okay, he and Cody shared something, something Davis and all the others here couldn't. None of them could understand what it was like to be them, none of them had gone through or seen the things Cody and Ken went through or saw.

None of them knew what it was like to lose someone you loved.

Brothers. Fathers. Girlfriends.

Was Yolei his girlfriend? He'd never asked her out. Never got up the courage. That had always been Davis's forte, he supposed. He knew Yolei had feelings for him, but he still couldn't get it out. The words always felt trapped inside of him.

Maybe it was because he feared letting in someone else, at least in that way. Just one more person to lose.

Maybe he would be glad he never got those words out. If Yolei died...

_No,_ it was too late. It didn't matter if he never got the words out. He'd felt them. Yolei, at first so seemingly selfish and silly and petty and arrogant, so unforgiving and unconcerned and _wild_, untamed, untamable. Yolei, who came to every single one of his soccer games, who always cheered him on, who had eventually welcomed him into their group despite her own reservations about him. Yolei, who _was_ selfish and silly and petty and arrogant, who _was_ unforgiving and unconcerned and _wild_, untamed, untamable. Yolei, who was also self-sacrificing and smart and loving and insecure, so cautious and affectionate and fun, untamed, untamable. Yolei— layered, beautiful, brutish Yolei.

Who would give up the world to protect Ken.

He dropped to his knees, cradling her. Her blood ran down his hands and between his fingers. But he didn't care. "I think I love you," he whispered, ducking his head. "I don't know if I do. Maybe I don't. I don't know what that kind of love feels like because I've never felt it before— I loved my parents, I loved Sam, but nothing like this. Whatever I feel, I don't want to lose it, I don't want to lose you. Wake up. Please, just wake up, Yolei!"

(-10201012-)

Heat.

Billowing, blistering heat.

Yolei opened her eyes in a slant. She saw nothing but darkness. Then she could see the silhouette of her eyelashes flicking through an off-light. Eventually, colors entered her vision, dim at first but growing virile and vivid the more she opened her eyes.

Why were the colors so hot?

"_**You must not die yet..."**_

That voice... It sounded so familiar, but she was sure she had never heard it before.

Yolei rested her palm against the ground. Compared to the heat, the soil was arctic-cold. She shook her head, her free hand grazing her temple. She didn't know why she felt so sore, it wasn't as if she had any injuries.

_But I did,_ she thought with a frown. _I _was_ injured. Just moments ago, I was lying on the ground with Halsemon... fighting Piemon... and before Piemon, MetalSeadramon struck me. And before MetalSeadramon..._

She felt along her side where there had been a deep gash. Blood had spilled out of it in puddles at her feet. She remembered rolling along the road and landing against a wall in a jumble of tangled limbs and clothes. Her digimon partner had been so badly hurt before then, and she hadn't wanted him injured any more than he already had been...

She'd heard Ken and Cody call out her name...

But she was too weak to respond...

Then the darkness took her. Eventually she woke up long enough to aid Tai against Piemon, but the darkness took her again soon after.

And now she was here, in this room, in this visceral heat. She realized with a glance that the icy "soil" was not really soil but a platform of bright white light. Surrounding the pedestal were sheets of darkness that spread endlessly into the distance, far past her line of sight. The heat came from a beam of dancing green and red light in the center of the darkness, inches from the pedestal of light she lied on.

Green and red light... the colors of her DigiEggs...

The warmth spread to Yolei's heart, where she clutched her chest.

Wherever this place was, it definitely was not Odaiba. But it also couldn't be the Digital World. Could it be the Dark Ocean, or part of the World of Darkness? But every time she visited there, she'd felt something clawing at her chest. It wasn't like the warmth which this light permeated; the feeling that clawed at her when she'd gone to the Dark Ocean with Ken and Kari had felt... _cold_. Bitterly cold.

Yolei squinted at the pillar of light. Was that where she'd heard the voice?

She could see a shape in the center of the pillar. It was dark and hard to see beneath the thick sheets of red and green, but it was there, staring at her, arms crossed over her chest, her hair flailing through the heat. Her body was cloaked in a darkness that surrounded Yolei, a darkness in the core of the light, but her eyes shone through the darkness and light alike.

Silver.

Her eyes were made of silver, like stars. Shining, burning in the darkness.

Dead angels hung limply in the light above her. Seven of them, suspended in thin air, their arms spread-eagle. Yolei didn't know why, but seeing them like that made her sad. She didn't think they were really there, just projections really, maybe reciting a past Yolei had no part of— but the woman herself was real, was vivid, was radiating this heat, this feral gale.

Finally noticing the woman's presence, Yolei sunk to her knees.

Her mind went blank for a moment.

Everything descended into a white slate.

Then the woman spoke again and said, _**"This is the true power of Love and Purity...**_

"_**Reality is at your feet, ready to be bent...**_

"_**This enigma will be solved! Rise, Inoue Yolei! Wake up! You cannot die until the fallen angels have been dethroned forever! They cannot rule again, not after what we went through to stop them!**_

"_**GET TO YOUR FEET.**_

"_**YOUR FIGHT IS NOT OVER YET.**_

"_**I AM THE GUARDIAN OF LOVE AND PURITY. I COMMAND YOU TO STAND. I COMMAND YOU TO FINISH WHAT YOU WERE DESTINED TO DO.**_

"_**STOP THE ENDLESS ONES. END THEIR REIGN.**_

"_**DO NOT TAKE FOR GRANTED THE GIFT I HAVE GIVEN YOU."**_

Guardian of Love and Purity...?

Gennai and his organization had created the Crests as a way for humans to interact with the Digital World's energy. The Crests converted data into an acceptable form of evolution, like a shot of adrenaline. But Yolei had always wondered why the organization had chosen to use certain emotions to activate the crests.

Sora and Mimi were unable to activate that power until they'd felt the power of love and purity fill their hearts. The organization knew evil forces would try to manipulate the crests' powers as a means to absorbing more power, and so the organization put a lock on the crests so that only certain emotions could activate them. But the truth was that crests were only physical tools used to access the true, intangible power behind the Destined; that the crests had only made them aware of how powerful their emotions were.

And why had the organization chosen the emotions that they did? How did they know which emotions to use as locks? The Destined didn't need crests or digieggs to access that power, it was inside their hearts, but it could still be locked away by the Sovereign. Could it be that the organization chose these emotions from another source, that there was something out there that held the power of the crest and it had no lock and no key?

What Yolei was getting at was... was the Guardian of Love and Purity the very essence of evolution? Or, at least, a part of that essence? Courage, friendship, love, knowledge, purity, reliability, hope, light, kindness, miracles, and fate— these eleven power sources were the only known keys to the evolution Destined used, so were there guardians for each of these power sources? Guardians, who were the very essence of evolution itself?

So when the Sovereign took away the ability of Tai's group to digivolve into the ultimate stage, had he used the guardians to do so?

Yolei had always considered herself a guardian of love and purity due to her DigiEggs. But maybe there was a force more ancient and powerful than herself who held those virtues before she did. Maybe it was this ancient and powerful force that bestowed Gennai's organization the ability to use love and purity as a means for temporary evolution.

Yes. That was the only way Yolei could describe it. The force before her eyes was nothing she'd ever seen before. Ancient and powerful, Love Personified, Purity Incarnate.

The silhouette in the red and green light had a silver moon grin to go with her silver star eyes.

"_**Still gawking, child?"**_ she said, reaching out a hand in the light. As her fingertips dipped through the barrier of light, the shadows which copsed her flesh vanished. **_"I said it was time for you to go. I don't have time to wait for you to study me. I have much more important matters to tend to than your tiny brain."_**

"Hey!"

And those fingers wrapped around Yolei's throat.

Behind the shadows was flesh and blood and bone, just like Yolei had, human hands, human arms.

As the woman dipped farther and farther out of the light, Yolei saw flashes of other details. Red hair. Silver eyes tainting into green. A lustful, gluttonous glint that shimmered in the green and red light.

"_**Time to DigiVolve,"**_ she said, a human girl with the deep, voluptuous voice of a goddess.

Then she swung Yolei over the edge of the white pedestal, legs dangling and fingers clawing at the woman's hand,

and the woman dropped Yolei into the darkness below.

(-1010201-)

Ken had always wanted to be like his older brother, Sam. Sam was considered a hero, superbly intelligent, the pinnacle of academic achievement and cunning, the crème de la crème of children during his time. Sam was a prodigy on his own accord, separate from dark spores or corruption or temptation. He was righteous and affectionate and protective. He was popular and active in the community and always seemed to know what to do.

Ken often reflected on this. Smart as Ken was, it took him so short of a time to be where he was— he fell into Oikawa's grasp like an insect in a Venus fly trap. Sam earned everything he got through hard work and talent— though Ken was no longer the venomous creature he once was, he got where he was by the dark spore implanted in the back of his neck. He hadn't earned any of it. He hadn't deserved any of it.

Deep inside, though he admired his brother, he hadn't _wanted_ any of it. No matter how many times he'd told himself differently.

But the dark whispers in the back of his mind always reminded him that as long as he was not as smart as Sam, he would not be as loved as Sam, he would not be as good as Sam. In comparison to Sam, as long as Ken was who he wanted to be, he would remain trash. The dark whispers in the back of his mind, whispers that ricocheted to his heart and curled up in his ribcage, told him he did want to be as good as his brother, to be as loved as his brother, to be wanted and admired as his brother was, and that no matter what he did, without the Dark Spore, he would be useless. Worthless. And never good enough.

Sometimes that feeling came back.

Even though the Dark Spore had delivered nothing but pain to both Ken and the others he'd hurt as the Digimon Emperor, what kind of life would he have had without it? What kind of person would he have grown into?

Funny. Without the Dark Spore, would he have even met Davis and the others? Would he have even gotten to know Yolei? Would he have ever had another opportunity to spend time with Wormmon? The worst gift had led him to the best gifts.

What spawned such thinking was the fact that he was staring at Yolei. His elbows were resting at her side, face buried in his hands as he stared at her expressionless face through the cracks in his fingers. Her eyes were tightly shut, her body limp. The hospital was destroyed. But even if it wasn't, it still would have been the same thing. He would have felt just as bad, if not worse. Yolei had a chance of not waking up, just like Sam.

"_We are doing our best to keep him going,"_ the doctors had told them all those years ago. _"It is likely he will wake up, but we are not sure when."_

He didn't wake up within the hour. Sam didn't wake up the next hour, either. Not even the hour after that. More than soon after, the Ichijouji family realized that they would never see Sam smile again. This thought was proven when the heart monitor went flat not three days later. He left that room covered by a white sheet.

This time, it was "nothing vital was hit"—"she's likely to wake up"—"Azulongmon is calling in Cutemon". Ken shook his head, lifting his chin from his hands and instead placing his head on her chest. His ear pressed against her shirt, he listened to her heartbeat, which seemed to echo in his mind; even in the deepest of his thoughts.

_Ker-thump, ker-thump, ker-thump_

"Ker-thump," he whispered, closing his eyes as he synced the heartbeat with his breath. "Ker-thump, ker-thump, ker-thump..."

"I love you, too."

Ken jumped back.

Yolei was staring at him with a glazed-over look.

Ken was too stunned to say anything. His pale look made her giggle. She reached out, grazing his cheek with her hand.

"You're awake," he whispered, clasping her hand with his own. Her gaze darted in Halsemon's direction. He was waking up, as well, his eyes narrowed and speckled by tears. Had he been crying in his sleep? Was it because he had been unable to help Yolei?

She struggled to get up. "Shh," Ken whispered, trying to stop her. "You're still injured. Cutemon are going to be here soon, then you can move around again. Until then, just take it easy, okay?" 

"No..." she whispered, holding her bleeding side, wincing. "I feel fine."

"YOLEI INOUE," Davis barked at her, marching to her side. He then winced and buckled over, himself. In a quieter voice, he said, "We were worried about you... You take it easy! Ya hear!"

"Like _you_ should talk!" she grunted back at him. "Ehhhh, Motomiya? You don't look in too good of shape yourself! Hah, why you acting so damn cocky?"

"Hey, I was taking on one of the strongest Dark Masters all by my lonesome, so shut it!"

Darkdramon nudged him. Davis reddened. "Okay, I suppose Darkdramon helped... a little..." Darkdramon nudged him again. "Okay, okay! We took him down as a team! With Darkdramon doing most of the work. Still! At least Ken helped you out."

"I could have beaten him by myself, you pansy!" Yolei shouted back at him, then winced as pain jolted up her ribs.

"Yeah right! You couldn't even beat a Botamon by yourself!"

"Yes I could!"

"Well why would you want to? They're so cute and tiny and little!"

"Tiny and little are the same thing, doofus! Stop contacting the Redundancy Department of Redundancy!"

"Sh—shut-up!"

What little could have been continued of their conversation was interrupted by a rush of hugs. Both Tai and TK tackled Yolei – well, gently, without putting too much pressure on her injured side – and Cody's bottom lip was wibbling. Armadillomon was lightly tugging on his pantleg. Yolei had a slight "oomph" reaction as Davis and Ken embraced her.

"You guys..." Yolei let up a little and smiled, even though Ken was sure her side was sore.

She reached up to hug them back.

That was when an explosion hit the ground a yard away from them, blowing them several times head-over-heels by the impact.

(-'**1020102010**'-)

**Chapter Preview: **

-"Hey, you! Yeah, you! I'mma beat you! Ya hear! No one can do this to Davis and Davis's friends, so you're about to get your ass handed to you! Right, TJ?"

-"We can't worry about ourselves!"

-"What is that?" "I... I don't know." "They look like crests. But how? They're not our Crests."

-"Howling BLASTER." "METEOR WING." "ELECTRO SHOCKER." "Needle SPRAY." "HARPOON TORPEDO."

-"Wisemon has unsealed the gate between worlds. The stars have aligned. The three keys will soon be ready, then we will be at the helm of all worlds."

Next Chapter: **Saga I Session XVI- My Other Half**


	16. I&XVI: My Other Half

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Army of Me" by Bjork

**Author's Note:** Sorry this chapter took so long to crank out. It's been on my laptop for forever, I just never posted it. Partly because I needed to tidy up a couple scenes (particularly Tai's), and partly because I had writer's block, and partly because life has been incredibly busy. But I apologize for the lateness. To make up for it, I shall post this chapter today, another tomorrow, and a third on Thursday.

(-'010102000'-)

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever; its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingess."

—John Keats

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XVI**

... My Other Half ...

Davis's face lit up against the explosion. He doubled over and found himself staring upside-down at his attacker.

Wind-swept blond hair. Light blue eyes that gazed at an unworthy world. A darkness that smoldered in those eyes, in the very movement of his hands. Lucesco— that was what he called himself. The man who grows light.

He was striding in their direction. As he glided toward them, his skin bubbled and boiled and then finally molted. Beneath it jutted out fine slits of armor that congealed all the way to his wrists, where metal spikes fanned out. Gold breastplates gleamed against the light, an ensemble of a cloak and gloves and chainmail-made trousers bursting into being.

"Cody, stay with Yolei and Halsemon," Davis ordered as Darkdramon helped him right himself. He briefly wondered if Kari and the others were alright— where they were— then shook his head. He barely knew whether or not _they_ were alright, as in him, his partner, and all the Destined present. Kari, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Mimi, and Joe could all take care of themselves. He was sure Gatomon would have located Kari by now anyway.

As Davis prepared to head back into battle, Cody nodded and stepped next to the injured Yolei and Halsemon. He helped them back to a comfortable sitting position (Halsemon's head had been positioned between his hind legs and Yolei was struggling to untwist her legs).

"Thanks," Halsemon said in a hoarse voice as he grimaced.

Tai and Ken were the first ones to head in Lucesco's direction. Davis was struggling to breathe; he'd been struck bad by Machinedramon, but his partner had been struck worse and Darkdramon was heading right out into battle without another thought, no trouble at all... How did he do it? He'd gotten his armor pierced. He was struggling for a while to keep himself together.

Maybe it had something to do with the Enigma Evolution. Maybe it quickened their healing process, gave them extraordinary regenerative abilities. Maybe. Izzy would fathom a guess, Davis couldn't for the life of him figure it out. _That's what nerds are for,_ he thought affectionately.

As he stumbled in Lucesco's direction, he felt a pair of arms boost him up. Peering to his side, he saw it was TK.

"Are you sure you shouldn't be the one staying back with Yolei instead of Cody?" TK asked with a small grin.

Davis grinned back. "Naaaah. I still got some fight in me. What about you?"

TK's expression darkened a little. "I promised Devimon I'd avenge him. So yeah. I've got a lot of fight in me right now."

Davis paused. Devimon... He looked around for the dark digimon, but he couldn't find him anywhere. The screech of bats nearby made him realize something. He looked at TK again. TK was biting down hard on his bottom lip. His eyes had glazed over and he was avoiding Davis's gaze. His brows were knitted together, his muscles stiff.

Devimon was dead.

But wasn't that a good thing?

He was the Destined's first enemy, according to Tai's group. He'd killed Angemon and TK had never forgotten it. Never forgiven it. The scars of that night remained permanently pressed into him, and they always reopened and bled when dark forces came out to play. Even Davis had noticed TK's darker side when it came to digimon like Devimon.

But then again, Davis had spent far less time with Ken than TK had with Devimon before Davis realized Ken wasn't half as evil as he'd predicted. Yet, TK grew up believing in Devimon's evil. TK saw that face every day, and every night he dreamed about the moment Angemon sacrificed himself for him. For years, that sickness had swelled inside his heart, festering, and that wasn't the kind of pain people just forgot, it wasn't the kind of pain people could just forgive. Holding onto that kind of pain for years would take more than just a few months to fade. The wound hadn't even healed yet, so how could a bond form between TK and the beast who had delivered that wound?

"Devimon..." Davis muttered. He then shook his head and managed to grab TK's hand in his own. "I'm sorry."

Davis was surprised to hear TK give a rough sniff. The blond shook his head and gave a tear-stained smile. "I'm sure it was for the best."

_TP's always like that,_ Davis thought. _Always smiling, even when he's in pain._

_He and Kari are kind of similar in that way._

"So, you sure you're strong enough for this?" TK said after a few seconds, looking back in Lucesco's direction.

Davis grinned and nodded. "You just go ahead and provoke me!"

"Davis needing provocation? Since when?"

"Exactly! I don't! You ain't no one to question _my_ strength, pretty boy!"

TK laughed. "I guess not."

"Hey, you!" Davis barked in Lucesco's direction. As Lucesco swayed toward him, Davis continued, "Yeah, you! I'mma beat you! Ya hear! No one can do this to Davis and Davis's friends, so you're about to get your ass handed to you! Right, TJ?"

TK, whose smile was genuine, said, "Right. And I'll correct you when it's a better time."

"Right!" Davis swung around to march in Lucesco's direction. "Wait, correct me on what?"

TK nearly stumbled as the boy wrenched away from him. "Davis, careful— you're injured."

"I'm fine!" Davis grinned. "As long as Kari and Veemon and Jun are okay... as long as there is a city to protect... as long as there are digimon and humans alike who are suffering... as long as my friends and my family are in danger, I'm okay! I'll always be okay, even when they can't be okay, I will be okay for them and their sake, and I will never stop fighting!"

A gale of fire surged from the ground beneath Lucesco. Lucesco flipped through the air and canceled out the attack with a flaming one of his own. Crying out something that was smothered by the whipping flames, Lucesco sent a barrage of flaming soldiers in Davis and TK's direction.

TK shoved Davis to the side. Davis swerved around, holding his hand out.

TK spread his arms out, ready.

"Shit!" Davis howled, raking his fingers through the air. Five tongs of magma spurted from his fingertips and converged with Lucesco's flame, submerging them both. The ensuing impulse threw TK straight off his feet and into the arms of Angemon, who called out his name as he caught his partner. TK threw his head back in a silent scream as white-hot crust thrust through his shoulder and ripped into his arm.

"TK!" Davis heard Tai scream from the opposite end of the battlefield. Lucesco's attack had carved a path through the upturned streets. Tai and Examon instantly went into action, Examon half-blinded.

Davis rushed to TK's side, both him and Angemon lightly shaking him. "TK! TK! TK!" Davis lightly patted his cheeks.

TK's eyes glazed over for a moment. "Kari...?"

"She's coming, buddy," Davis reassured him, grabbing TK's hand.

"Devimon..." The mist in TK's eyes solidified into steel. The grogginess in his voice seemed to clear, harden. With a frown, the blond shook his head and planted a hand on the ground. "If you can still fight, so can I."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Davis pouted.

TK grinned and hobbled to a stand. "Take it easy!" Angemon said with a frantic motion to steady his partner.

TK directed his grin toward his partner and said to Davis, "It means... we are Destined... and you are right... as long as there are people to protect, we can't worry about ourselves!"

A golden crown burst from Lucesco's cranium and bent outward in awkward angles, like horns protruding from his skull. His cloak weaved in the wind. Spreading out his arms, Lucesco flipped into the air, where seven encircled symbols formed shapes in the sky.

Ken skidded to a halt beside Davis, TK, and Angemon. "What is that?"

"I..." Davis's brow furrowed. "I don't know."

"They look like crests," TK said, "But how? They're not our Crests."

Red. Blues of light and dark shades. Orange. Purple. Yellow. Green.

Each color depicted a different emblem that none of the children recognized. Tai was the first to realize Lucesco was forming an attack; he and Examon bolted into the sky, fists raised, voices gutturally howling in the winds. But it was too late. Lucesco smashed his palms together. Immediately, the seven signs illuminated the dark sky and beamed seven massive pillars of light into the ground. One struck Tai and scorched his side. He flew back into Examon with a force that plunged them both into the concrete below. Another light struck ground near Darkdramon and Stingmon, both of who flung into each other by the ensuing explosion.

"Da... DARK ROAR," Darkdramon managed to shout.

"Hand of FATE," Angemon joined.

Examon's tail whipped into the fray, following Darkdramon and Angemon's attacks. Lucesco's eyes narrowed as he opened his palms.

Dark energy fizzled between his hands. Seconds later, sparks imploded and resolved into dark, mercurial matter that formed an orb in the center of his hands. He held it high above his head and thrust it in the direction of the attacks.

Each attack struck the black sphere and dissolved into ash.

Still hurdling in the direction of the Destined, the ball of energy grew in size with every second it lingered. TK pushed Davis off and covered him with his own body at the same time that Angemon flung himself in front of both boys. Tai and Examon held up their hands to shield their faces. Ken plunged his hands into the concrete and conjured a wall of jungle vines that formed a barricade around the Destined, while Stingmon tried to yank him out of the way.

The Destined could hear the attack whipping through the air like a bomb as it descended upon them.

"Howling BLASTER." Metal swords billowed through the air along with the icy attack.

"METEOR WING." Darkness surfed the flame.

"ELECTRO SHOCKER." Electricity surged side-by-side with the magnetic display.

"Needle SPRAY." Trees burst from the ground like stakes.

"HARPOON TORPEDO." A geyser of water ascended from the nearby shore and crashed upon the road.

All ten attacks collided with Lucesco's attack simultaneously. The attack swerved off-course and instead hit nearby; the impact alone was enough to rattle the roads and burst Ken's jungle of vines into dust. Angemon was knocked back into TK and Davis, Stingmon's skin glistened with heat as he protected Ken from the shrapnel, Tai and Examon flew through a convenience store and a bank before skidding to a stop a block away. Yolei, Cody, Halsemon, and Armadillomon sat gaping at the attack, almost flown back by the pressure, but Armadillomon digivolved into Digmon and dug a burrow beneath them that entrenched them, temporarily protecting them from most of the force.

After the attack hit, Davis, Darkdramon, Tai, Examon, TK, Angemon, Ken, Stingmon, Yolei, Halsemon, Cody, and Digmon all looked up at the ten new arrivals who had redirected Lucesco's attack.

Standing not far away, they could make out the shapes of Matt atop Garurumon, Sora standing atop a flying Birdramon, Izzy clinging to Kabuterimon's back, Mimi playfully kicking her feet side-by-side as she sat on Togemon's shoulder, and Joe standing cross-armed on Ikkakumon's head.

"You've got one of these corrupt Destined, too, huh?" Sora called out to Tai.

Tai didn't answer her question. Instead, he found himself staring blankly at her shoulder and the bandage which encased it. Blood ran cold down his chest, his own arms tightening as his teeth clenched. "What happened?"

Sora blinked, then reddened a little. She glanced to her shoulder, wrapped in a bloody tourniquet. The only thing left of her arm was a stump, eradicated by fire and energy. She smiled sadly in Tai's direction. "We... had a few complications."

"_Complications?"_ Tai nearly laughed between his clenched teeth. "_Complications!_ MATT."

_**CRACK**_. Matt ducked just in time to avoid Tai's fist; instead, his knuckles plowed into a stray pole behind, knocking it down with a single hit.

"What are you...?" Sora's voice hitched as she watched Tai land another fist, this time square into Matt's face. Matt flung off his partner and hit the concrete below, coughing.

"Matt!" Garurumon called.

As Matt twisted on the ground, he motioned for Garurumon to stay put and looked back up at Tai. He was panting. Covered in blood and ash. Surrounded by the debris of his hometown.

"I thought she was safe with you," Tai snarled, charging. _**SNAP**_. He landed another blow. Matt went flying back.

"Tai, don't!" Sora cried, reaching out to stop him.

Matt shook his head at her, clenching his teeth as he nursed a swollen eye. "I know..." He ducked his head, trying to hide the shame written there. "I tried."

Tai's raised hand trembled midair, fist shaking. He bit down, holding back the urge to hit him again. Just when he thought he might not be able to suppress it, he felt a hand lightly grip his wrist, gently guiding it back to his hip.

"It wasn't Matt's fault," Sora said in a soft voice. "Please don't blame him, Tai."

"But..." Tai bit his bottom lip, turning to fully face her. His eyes drooped to her arm again.

Matt looked away as well, reaching up with one hand to grab half his face. "Sora..."

Sora shrugged her stump. "Stop blaming yourself, Matt..."

As she crouched down to level with him, he finally looked up, just barely. She touched his cheek with a sad smile across her own, as he leaned into her palm. "Does it...hurt?"

"No," she replied with a firm voice. "But even if it did, I can't let it stop me. There's too much to do."

Matt grabbed hold of Sora's hand. She smiled at him and nodded.

"Then who is to blame?" Tai's low, gravelly voice made Sora shudder. "Who did that to you?"

"As implied, another one of these odd Destined," said Joe, taking off his glasses and cleaning them with his grimy shirt.

"Yeah, can we get away from the drama and more toward the fight?" asked Ikkakumon. Joe nudged him. "What? It isn't like the fate of the world is depending on us right now or anything..."

"Yes, right— we ran into some big trouble," Izzy continued, nodding in the direction of Matt and Sora's flat. "And we still are, but our enemy disappeared somewhere, talking about... well... Gatomon, Kari, and Cody." The youngest Destined looked up from Yolei's side. "We don't know much. She attacked suddenly out of a lightning bolt. Be on the lookout for a young woman about my age, maybe a bit older, dark red hair. Uh, likes... purple things... and can wield sand and electricity. And often talks about martinis and Spam. Um."

"This is definitely the Apocalypse," Davis muttered to Tai. "Izzy is bringing up random and unhelpful facts."

Tai nodded. "Mhm." Izzy glared at them.

Lucesco, however, who appeared to be listening into the conversation, laughed. "Mara..." he whispered, reaching in the direction of the vortex. "It's time. The stars have aligned. Wisemon has finished the Necronomicon Scriptures.

"The sad Ghost Gods will descend."

(-10120101-)

There was an organic sack in the Depths of Nowhere that pulsated. Black veins surged through its velvet skin, beating, like a heart, as though about to burst at any moment. Sometimes the sack bobbled or shifted, sometimes it dangled silently. Grooves grew into the roof and connected it to the heart of all things, making the organic sack a part of the building, a part of the mirror and the windows, a part of the world itself.

Beneath the cocoon sat a dark, depraved creature. It had one massive eye and two massive claws, two bipedal legs and a black helmet that was glued to its skin. That _was_ a part of its skin. Many knew him as Deathmon, but Dianamon did not care for his name.

Dianamon hardly cared for even the creature Deathmon guarded, the thing connected to the heart of all things, the creature who used to rule this castle of nowhere in the deepest darkness of the Dark Area, in the core of the Dark Ocean, in the depths of the World of Darkness. It was in this palace which all three plains of existence interconnected, a darkness greater than any tangible shadow could be comprehended.

She watched the pulse of the cocoon for what felt like a long time. She thought about the past.

Lilithmon.

How much Dianamon missed Lilithmon.

And the boy... the boy she was destined to meet.

"I want to see him," Dianamon said.

At first, it would appear she spoke to Deathmon. But it was not Deathmon who replied.

Behind her, Bagramon's lips pulled into a malevolent grin. "Well aren't we being demanding tonight? You'll get to see him very soon, my dear, in the human world. If only he would stop playing around and join his brethren..."

"He's like me," Dianamon said, twisting around to look Bagramon in the eye. "He likes toys. I'll make you into a toy if you don't show him to me."

Bagramon watched her for a while. Then he walked carefully over the tiled floor and landed in front of Deathmon, whose single eye blared up at him questioningly. Deathmon's skin was once a pearl white that glistened in the gray Sun, but now it was grayer than the ocean itself, and half his arms were black as char. The end of the world was coming soon. Deathmon's skin only confirmed that.

Deathmon... a digimon whose skin would turn to darkness itself on the day of the apocalypse.

Earlier this morning, he had been as white as Angemon's wings.

The cocoon sharply shifted above them. Dianamon and Bagramon glanced up at it, then back at each other.

"He knew you would meet him someday," Bagramon whispered. "But as his heart stopped beating, he realized he had lost his chance for the sake of his little brother.

"It's time you saw him for the first, my moon goddess."

Dianamon _had_ seen the boy before, only twice. Not the creature in the cocoon— she had not seen that one since ancient times— but the _boy_... the human boy... She remembered the first time she saw him. She had been traveling the Dark Ocean for ages, searching for her goddess, her Lilithmon. Just as she had given up hope, she landed into the ocean, sobbing, reaching out for the moon and begging for answers. Why had Lilithmon left her alone? Why had Dianamon given up her entire life for someone who abandoned her?

Then she peered into the water. She watched her wailing reflection. And in her reflection, she saw him, crying beside her. He had felt something similar to her pain. Though she had never met the boy face-to-face, she could feel his pangs traveling through her own heart, stinging; they were on two separate plains of existence, yet their empathy for one another was immense. That boy, too, had felt abandoned and alone, betrayed by the one he loved most.

She tried to reach out for the boy, but her hand had touched nothing but water. Ripples erased his reflection.

The next time Dianamon saw his reflection beside hers, he was in a coffin. Dead. And something inside of her had died along with him.

Static illuminated the windows surrounding Diana and Bagramon and Deathmon. They flickered on and off. Then, reflecting in their depths, just as he had in the murky depths of the Dark Ocean, was the human boy. His dark blue hair was longer than it was then, and he looked older. He wore glasses and was pale. But he was brilliant. And he was beautiful. And he was hers. All hers.

Dianamon turned to Bagramon. "I can break him?"

"After he's opened the doors," Bagramon replied. "Then, beautiful creature of the night, you can break him, hate him, love him, kill him. He's not afraid of anything. Well..." Bagramon watched Dianamon turn back to the walls of windows, her fingertips grazing the pristine surface. "...Except maybe life itself."

"Humans aren't usually this beautiful."

"Perhaps not."

"Always." As her fingertips dragged along the window's glass, the boy's eyes narrowed. He, too, reached out toward thin air, toward the sky, though she was certain he couldn't know she saw him.

"Well," she continued on after Bagramon's silent response. "If Peach is leaving, so must I."

"Don't call me Peach," came a voice from the door. Dianamon smirked as she laid her eyes on Demon, who was leaning against the large wooden-steel frame. His red eyes glinted in the dim lighting. His gaze flickered between Dianamon and the pulsating, bulging sack of living matter.

That was the true prize. If ever there was a way of dethroning the Council, it was through that creature alone. But first, they would have to wait... and wait... until the creature could awaken, far more powerful than he ever was before.

"Dagomon is waiting for us." Demon motioned to the arch branching the room to the hallway. "Wisemon has unsealed the gate between worlds. The stars have aligned. The three keys will soon be ready, then we will be at the helm of all worlds."

Dianamon gave one final glance to the windows. She watched the boy lower his hand. Her sweet, beautiful boy. Her other half. A half she never had the opportunity to meet in person— but it would be different now. Now, she would meet him, and they could be happy. Demon would finally rip the Dark Spore from the neck of that stupid child. And then she would have Lilithmon as well, and Demon, and Dagomon, and then eventually the other four would follow... and they would all be one big happy family once again.

The Seven Great Demon Lords, and their band of mighty friends who do things in their name.


	17. I&XVII: A Destined Most Monstrous

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Clocks" by Coldplay

(-'010102000'-)

"I also have always liked the monster within idea. I like the zombies being us. Zombies are the blue-collar monsters."

—George A. Romero

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore ourselves?"

—Friedrich Nietzsche

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XVII**

... A Destined Most Monstrous ...

Cody had absolutely no idea of what was happening around him. He didn't know that his fellow Destined were fighting a losing battle against ancient forces much more powerful than themselves, nor that Sora's arm had been scorched nor that Examon was half-blind. He didn't know that right at this very moment, the millions of digimon descending from the vortex were so many that they were blotting out the sun. He did not know who the woman was that wanted to find him, or what her intentions could possibly be, or what connection to his past— what connection to his father and Oikawa— she may have.

He couldn't hear the thousands of screams pouring from the vortex, nor the thousand more that echoed from the city. He couldn't see the darkness that they created, enveloping the city—eclipsing the sun's light. He didn't know that, as he was waiting beside Yolei, digimon were spreading from not only Odaiba, but all of Asia— from Asia to Europe and Africa, to America and Australia. Even frozen and lonesome Antarctica wasn't safe.

It had faded to static in his mind.

"Yolei..."

"I have to help them," Yolei whispered, wobbling to a stand. "Halsemon."

"Agreed," her digimon partner said with a voice made of stone. He, too, wavered as he stood. Both Yolei and Halsemon collapsed against each other as their knees gave out underneath them. Yolei sniffed and wrapped her arms around her partner, who half-winced.

"Yolei..." Cody pleaded weakly, his voice breaking.

The two, Destined and Partner, stumbled with a limp gait in the direction of Lucesco and the others, gritting their teeth. Blood pooled from their wounds and their muscles whined against the strain, but they felt useless just lying around doing nothing.

"_Yolei..._"

"We can't give up!" Halsemon said, and Yolei whooped.

"We're stronger than this!"

"We are the Destined of Love and Purity!"

"_**Yolei**_!" Cody's feet moved before he could stop them. He pushed himself in front of both Destined and partner, and wrapped his arms around Yolei in a tight embrace. She halted, stunned silent. When Cody looked back up at her, she saw the warm tears stinging his eyes.

"You can't..." he choked. Seeing her wrinkled brow, he tried to explain further, but the garrote in his throat prevented him from making any sort of sense.

"I have to," she replied, attempting to walk past him.

His arms flexed, holding her in place. "No!"

"You can't stop me, Hida!"

"Please, listen to me!"

"Tried that, you didn't say anything in my language!"

"You can hardly walk! _Both_ of you can hardly walk!"

"Then we'll fly!"

"Yolei—"

"We'll find a way to help! I refuse to be useless!"

Yolei, the youngest in a family of six... How hard would it be to hold any sort of individuality, to grab hold of an accomplishment and say it was hers and hers alone? How often was she made to feel as if she didn't matter, as if she had nothing to call her own? Yolei, who was happy just to eat a snack or a dessert all her own. Yolei, who refused to succumb to the worthless pit in her heart, the voices in the back of her mind that told her she would never amount to anything.

Yolei, who promised herself she would matter. She would not be just another face in a sea of other faces.

Maybe that was something the Destined shared... the desire to make a difference, to mean something.

Cody struggled to find the right words. He knew there was no magical sentiment to make her stop, but he had to try. There was nothing else he could do, he couldn't let her continue fighting in her condition. "You'll die," he gasped, clutching frantically at her shoulders, his forehead leaning against her sternum. "You'll die, Yolei! You've already lost so much blood, and Halsemon isn't much better off! You'll die, and I can't... I can't..."

His father. His grandfather. Oikawa.

In Cody's dreams, he sat at a round table drinking tea with his mother, father, and grandfather. By lunchtime, they were joined by Armadillomon, Yolei, Hawkmon, and Oikawa, welcomed warm-heartedly by an unbroken Hida family.

In Cody's nightmares, he sat staring at the shrine of his dead father and his dead grandfather. There was no Yolei to rest a comforting hand on his shoulder. There was no Armadillomon to tell him it would be alright. There was no mother to snap him out of his inner-reverie and bring him back to reality. There was just him and his dead family.

"Cody." Yolei sunk to her knees. She rested both her hands on both his shoulders, steadying his head so that they were eye-to-eye. Though her eyes were adamant, direct, her voice had softened. "I don't have a choice," she said. "These evil digimon are everywhere. We can sit here all we like, but we're still out in the open. We are going to get attacked either way."

"Yeah, but I'm here to help you!" Cody felt the world melt away. In his mind, he watched MetalSeadramon rip his grandfather apart. He watched MetalSeadramon's attack strike Yolei with stunning force. He watched his father shot by an unknown assassin. He watched Oikawa die in his arms. He watched MetalSeadramon's head dissolve slowly into data that fluttered to the sky. "I saw you die once today!" he sobbed, shaking her. "Don't put me through that again, not so soon!" His tenure weakened. "Don't make me...!" His arms lowered. "You've always been my best friend... Before Davis, before TK, before Kari and Ken, before Tai's group, even before Armadillomon, it was _you_! _Me_ and you! I can't lose you..." His arms went limp. "I don't want to lose anymore..."

He pulled away so Yolei could see his glassy green eyes. "I'll protect you," he whispered, fingers clawing into the turned-over concrete and gravel. "_Both_ of you." He ducked his head again. "Just don't... _don't go_..."

The four of them sat in the din like that for a while. Brachimon and Dark Tyranomon crashed through city streets. A Boogeymon's cackles resounded miles away. The explosions of Cannondramon and Deltamon jerked the ground beneath their knees. A Mephismon sunk his fangs into the frail human flesh of a boy and ripped out his internal organs. Yatagaramon's screech shattered the eardrums of a nearby Labramon.

Armadillomon reached out and nudged Cody's side with his head. "Don't cry, Cody," he said, "You're not ten anymore. You gotta' be a big guy!"

"I'm sorry. I forget sometimes that even though you're the wisest of us, you're still just a kid like me..." Yolei's voice almost broke as she said it. She raised Cody's chin and rested her forehead against his. "We've been together from the get-go and it'd be selfish to put you through all that pain over and over again. But... don't you get it? We can't just sit back and watch the world go up in flame. Not without a fight. I love you. And that's why I have to do this."

She kissed his forehead. Standing, she peered into his eyes, the ferocity of her own echoing in the strength of her bleeding body, her wounded sides, her pulsing headache. Yolei stretched her hand out for his.

She cocked her head to the side and gave him a smile. "I might die if I fight. But I might die even if I don't. At least if I die fighting, it's the kind of death I can be proud of, no regrets— helping and protecting the ones I love. I was blessed with these limbs, this strength, this partner, these friends and this life, I was given these privileges and it would be a terrible thing to waste it, to take it for granted, to not take advantage of it in order to protect those who can't protect themselves. Letting myself die might be selfish, but not helping – ignoring my call as 'Destined' – destined to protect the innocent and defenseless – spits in the face of every Destined...no, every _human being. _I wouldn't be worthy of being called Destined. Or woman. Or human!"

At that moment, Yolei's chest glowed with a bright red and green light. The light spread to Halsemon, who was lifted off his feet by the pulse. Yolei's arms spread out on either side of her. Her hair wavered, her eyes widening for a moment as if caught in time.

Cody's eyes widened, too. "No, Yolei, you can't!"

"Sorry, Cody," she whispered, then pointed her D3 at Halsemon. "Time to shinka, babe!"

"HALSEMON ENIGMA DIGIVOLVE TO..."

_Digivolve...?_ He didn't say armor digivolve, and he didn't de-digivolve. The befuddlement that crossed Cody's face was not reflected in Yolei's. That only confused him more. Could it be that she was in full control of Halsemon's evolution, as if she already knew what was happening?

A crackling pillar of red and green light thundered from the sky and struck the ground where Halsemon was standing. Bathed in the smoking beam, his feathers and skin bubbled over until he was enveloped by a glistening purple oval, like an egg, which sizzled against the light.

Cody felt his legs move before he could stop them. "Don't do it!"

But he was too late.

The egg and the beam burst at once, a scattershot of rainbow light that collided with the ground in jagged, yet somehow melting, shards. All that emerged from the burst was smoke— deep, lush, purple smoke that smelled strongly of hot niter and soil and spring wind— but then another shape manifested in the bleak fog. It was motionless at first, with a visible – but silhouetted – beak that tipped toward the sky. Then it shifted, heavy, with a massive head at least tenfold the size of Cody's entire body. Shaggy, frayed feathers splayed outward in a colorful display from the nodes in its neck and the crown of its head.

Cody scrambled to a stop mere feet from the creature. "What is that...?"

If anything, the creature resembled Aquilamon. Sora once showed Cody a picture of her and Garudamon, taken by a tourist back when she was a little girl fighting Myotismon; the creature could have been Garudamon, or some mix of Garudamon and Aquilamon, except this creature was a lot more massive than both of them. In fact, it must have been twice – if not triple – both their size combined. It also had no red or brown coloring except for the tip of its golden-hued beak and the feathers directly beneath its jawline. Six wings white as snow spanning at least 30 meters – if not more – jettisoned beams of red, green, and gold-colored light.

Cody was distracted by a whirring sound inside his pocket. He blinked and saw that the screen of his D3 was flickering wildly, turning a wide kaleidoscope of colors. In the colors, he saw eyelashes fleck the screen, then burst open, eyes staring at him in the mist of static.

Eyes in his D3? What could it mean? Was this a result of Halsemon's evolution?

Cody felt pressure against his shoulder. Pocketing his D3, he looked beside him to see Yolei was leaning against his, panting, holding her bleeding side. "Yolei..."

"This battle's just begun," she snarled between gritting teeth. "_Valdurmon._ Let's go!"

"Valdurmon?"

Yolei didn't expand on her point. Cody was blown back by a gust of wind traveling at breakneck speed. Yolei anchored herself to the ground using her hand and kicked her feet up in the air. With a burst of movement, Halsemon's evolution – "Valdurmon" – swept Yolei up onto his back and took off in the direction of Lucesco.

Cody watched silently for a few seconds, unsure what to say. Then, with a shake of his head, he called out for Digmon and followed in her direction.

_I can't keep her safe,_ he thought, clutching his trousers. _I can't persuade her to rest for a while._

_All I can do is hope she'll make it through this... and help her whenever she needs me._

(-1010201-)

_Ker-thump, ker-thump, ker-thump_

Yolei felt her heart thrash against her ribcage. Brow furrowing, fighting against the violent winds which rattled her insides and whistled in her ears and railed against her face, she watched the oncoming shape of Lucesco in the near distance.

_Ker-thump, ker-thump, ker-thump_

She smiled.

Her heart was beating to the rhythm of Valdurmon's wings.

Perfect.

It was as if they were in-sync.

She felt as if they were one in all but body. She could feel his hope, his power, and his hesitance, how unsure he was of facing Lucesco— not only because Lucesco was a formidable foe, but because of a history Yolei wasn't sure of. The funny thing was that she could reach deep into the visceral depths of her partner's mind and pull out almost any scrap of information she really needed, yet nothing came to her on this point.

Valdurmon knew that he was somehow connected to Lucesco. Deeply, vastly connected, in a way not many others were. But how? Who was Lucesco? ...Who was Valdurmon, Yolei's partner? Was this even her partner she was riding at this moment, or just some ancient deity temporarily possessing her partner's body, using it as a vehicle to further its own goals?

"Enigma Evolution"... and what an enigma it was.

The ability to bend reality, time, space... _fate_.

She could feel it whipping through her veins. She could feel it building, building, building inside her chest, like a sphere, like a fist, beating, like a heart all on its own; it was clotting her arteries, blocking her airways, feeding her its own ancient nourishment which dug deep into the trenches of her mind and changed how she processed everything around her.

The fire which covered the city was no longer just fire. It was alive— a spirit that needed to be drowned. With a wave of her hand, the wind suffocated the flame. The ice which entombed the other half of the city was a demon. She needed to exorcise it. With a wave of her other hand, a desiccating gale dried the crystalline water, draining it, melting it all at once. And Valdurmon beneath her feet...she could feel his mind stirring, waking up; this was no longer just her partner anymore.

Valdurmon was much more than a DigiDestined partner. She could feel two souls resonating within him, clinging to a single body. It felt as though the two were DNA Digivolved, but she was sure Halsemon had been alone when she pointed her D3 at him.

Valdurmon... Valdurmon... she had never heard the name once, even spoken by Gennai. But Yolei was sure, because she could feel his soul stirring inside his own. They two were connected now, more than just Destined, than just partners. They were one, one mind, one soul—

Valdurmon, protector of the skies, one of the most ancient and most rare races in the entire Digital World.

Valdurmon, who was assassinated long ago for knowing something he shouldn't.

But Valdurmon was back. He was back, he was Yolei's partner, and though neither of them could remember the secret of that ancient being, they would not stop until they found the answers they sought.

What exactly was Enigma Evolution? And what exactly had Yolei's partner become?

_Ker-thump, ker-thump, ker-thump_

"Faster!" Yolei cried out.

Valdurmon screeched to the sky and bellowed right into Lucesco's chest.


	18. I&XVIII: Without a Coffin

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Kanashimi no Mukou e" by Ita Kanako

(-'010102000'-)

"Grudge no expense - yield to no opposition - forget fatigue - till, by the strength of prayer and sacrifice, the spirit of love shall have overcome."

—Maria W. Chapman

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XVIII**

... Without a Coffin ...

Years ago, there was a time in which Kari and Davis were exact opposites.

Davis was the boy everyone knew and everyone disliked. The dorky, annoying loser. The loud, obnoxious, stupid boy from class. Everyone had an opinion on his behavior.

Kari was the girl no one remembered and no one cared about. The invisible girl nobody liked or disliked. The girl whose name no one knew, the girl no one noticed. No one had any opinion of her.

Eventually, that changed. Davis became the bright, happy boy everyone relied on. He was Tai's worthy successor not only as a leader of his digital team, but also as the star player of his school's soccer team. Kari became the bright, happy girl everyone relied on. She was a talented photographer and involved herself with several sporting events in order to take pictures for the yearbook. She entered cheer and made friends with dozens of people. She was trustworthy and kind, so that anyone who came to her knew they could speak openly with her rather than bottle up their emotions.

_Ahhh, close your eyes, Davis Motomiya!_

Those were her first words to him. They were so young at the time, he was surprised he still remembered. It was after a hot, dreary soccer game against Odaiba's rival school. It was his first victory and also the first time he had felt like all of his and Tai's hard work had finally paid off. In the process, however, he scraped his knee pretty bad.

It wasn't exactly a magical meeting. But Kari found her way to him and bandaged it with a Dragonball Z band-aid, and told him to close his eyes so it would hurt less. Before that point, however, they had seen each other more than once. At least, Kari had noticed him.

But who hadn't noticed Davis? He was the boy who never shut-up.

"_Mrs. Watson,"_ Davis said one bright afternoon, _"Can I go to the bathroom?"_

The teacher's eyebrow gave an unpleasant twitch. _"You just went twenty minutes ago. No."_

"_But now I actually have to _use _the bathroom!"_

The entire class broke out into laughter. Mrs. Watson was furious.

Davis liked the attention, though. When he was young, his peers used it as an excuse to tear him down and make themselves feel better. It was just another case of Davis being stupid and slacking, laugh and move on... The teacher was the same way. To her, Davis was just another spoiled, stupid kid who did stupid shit and wouldn't go anywhere in life.

In truth, Davis did it because he didn't know what else to do to make people notice him. His sister was the same way. It all started with Jun, his only role model. She, too, sought attention from her peers in the only way she could— negativity. Gossip. Boys. Scandals. They both just wanted people to see. In a way, Kari used to be who he was afraid of becoming. And he used to be who she was afraid of becoming— he feared being ignored, and she feared being torn down for wanting attention.

Davis and Jun's parents were never home.

Loving parents though they were, Davis had no memories of them taping good test scores to the fridge door, they never asked him how he was doing in school, they never asked why he never brought friends home, they never told him goodnight or goodbye. They were absent. Sure, there was food in the fridge and, when he and Jun were younger, a babysitter waiting for when he got home from school, but it took him until he was a teenager to find out his mother's favorite music, or to realize his father was more of a baseball fan than a soccer fan. That would explain why he never showed up to any of Davis's soccer games, though.

It didn't take much, however, for his parents to ask why he was disobedient in class. It didn't take much for his parents to ask why he was in detention. It didn't take much for them to ask why they were being called into the principal's office to discuss their son's behavior. That was when Davis realized that the only way for them to acknowledge him was to annoy his teachers and his peers.

There was one time, though, before the band-aid incident— one time where someone acknowledged him, and not because he was doing something obnoxious or ridiculous.

_CRACK._ The younger Davis flung against a wall as a fist landed with a meaty smack against his jawline. His back cracked against the brick school behind him. At first, the five-year-old didn't understand why one of his peers punched him. At the time, he'd simply been walking to school, with his little red backpack strapped to his shoulders and his Dragonball Z Goku tennis shoes tapping against the sidewalk. Ironically, the kid who hit him was wearing Vegeta tennis shoes...

The kid didn't even explain himself. Instead, he continued hitting Davis. Davis tried to ask him why, but the kid never answered.

Eventually, Davis went limp on the ground. He held up his arms to shield his face. He stopped trying to fight back.

There was a snap against his nose. His arms hadn't barricaded his face well enough. His head smashed against the pavement. The younger Davis curled into a ball, cradling his head, his bleeding nose. A kick to the stomach sent him twisting to his other side, where the boy kicked his back. At some point, Davis yelped. Over and over again the blows came.

Then, without warning, the violence stopped. He heard the boy's knuckles snap against someone else's skin. Davis squeezed his eyes shut for a while, unsure and scared of what he would see when he opened them, then saw that someone was standing in front of him. The boy punched that someone else again and gave a frantic, frustrated howl of rage.

"_Get out of my way!"_ the boy screamed.

The figure – a girl with mousy brunette hair and doe-brown eyes – shook her head, but she didn't say anything.

"_Who the hell do you think you are! Stay out of it!"_

Again, the girl shook her head. The boy grabbed her by the shoulder and shoved her to the ground, but she still didn't say a word or fight back. She didn't even cry.

Davis tried to stop him. His vision was blurred by the blood flowing out of his nose and the pain rattling his face. He didn't know who the girl was, but he understood this was his fight. He didn't want anyone else getting hurt because of something he did; but the girl didn't care about that. Every time Davis tried to help her, she would elbow him back to the ground, taking hit after hit.

When the boy finally ceased and disappeared inside the school, Davis blinked at the girl, unsure what to say. He didn't know her name. He still didn't recognize her even though he would soon find out he shared almost all of his classes with her, and had been sharing classes with her all year.

"_Hey, you,"_ he said, reaching out to touch the girl's shoulder.

She turned before he could get to her. He watched the purple bulge that swelled her eye shut, the blistering red mark that rippled across her cheek, and the way she winced when she twisted in his direction...

His bottom lip trembled. _"Why'd you do that? You didn't have to! I'm used to it..."_

She still didn't say anything. She simply gave him a wide, bright smile, warm and serene, and stood. With a slow, limping gait, she wandered into the school. He tried to ask her what her name was, but the words caught in his throat. Whoever she was, she'd just taken the beating of her life to protect a boy she didn't even know. No, a boy she'd known very well from all their classes together and the rumors these classes spread, but a boy she had never personally spoken to. She had no reason to help him, yet she had.

He didn't see her for the rest of the day, or week. A couple of years later, when that girl would grow stronger and healthier and finally gain some recognition, he would find out she had still been recovering from an illness when she defended him. The damage done to her already frail body was enough to send her home for another week in order to recuperate.

For that entire week of absence, he'd tried to find out her name. But no one recognized his descriptions, and no one had any idea what classes she took or where she sat.

When she returned a week later, the first thing he did was run up to her and tell her, _"Thank you!"_

Even though she had recovered – the bruises and gashes still prominent – she still didn't speak a word. Her face flushed at first, as if she hadn't expected him to remember her. Then her lips pulled back into the same smile she'd given him the last time they spoke.

After that point, he'd noticed her. They didn't speak, at least until that day on the soccer field, but he had never really looked away. When everyone laughed at him, she never did. When no one noticed her, he always had.

She grew stronger and gained confidence. Not long after Myotismon attacked Odaiba, she returned to school a somewhat changed person. Though still shy and quiet, she had learned to reach out to people and to make them smile. It didn't take long for her to finally be noticed. _He_ had noticed a change in her after Myotismon was defeated— it wasn't a big change, but she'd definitely returned to school with a different glow, a mannerism that spoke of this... _benign wisdom_, experience.

Now Davis knew it was because she had gone to the Digital World with Tai and everyone. Back then, though, no one knew why or how. By the end of the school year, people wondered how they had never before gotten to know that girl, Kari Kamiya.

It was amazing, Davis realized, how things had changed from when they were little. But suddenly, as he looked into the eyes of their enemy, he realized it felt a lot like it had when they were that age.

Kari was no where, and Davis was everywhere, getting himself into a trouble that only she would voluntarily save him from.

(-1020101-)

"_**LUCESCO**_!"

The clouds seemed to rumble in-sync with Davis's voice as he rushed at the blond, armor-clad creature hurdling toward him. The two collided with a bang that rattled the ground beneath their feet. Fists lodging into each other's faces, both boys flipped backwards and hit through several buildings before gravity finally stopped them.

Lucesco stood, teeth gritting. A deep cut foamed blood along the side of his temple, soaking into his hair.

"Finally," Davis said with a guttural smirk as he shouldered off some debris. "You actually can bleed."

Lucesco grunted disdainfully.

Flipping into the sky, he splayed out his hands and shot a hailstorm of black spheres from his palms. Instantly, Togemon, Kabuterimon, Angemon, and Examon were pushed back by the attack.

Ikkakumon charged, white fur blaring as his missiles plunged into the ground. The earth shattered, trembled, ripped until it tore the concrete beneath Lucesco's feet. Lucesco tripped and fell into the aperture—for a moment the Destined's hearts began to beat quicker—but he grabbed the edge and threw himself back up, teeth gritting as he flicked a beam of light toward Ikkakumon's face.

Ikkakumon smashed the beam with his paw, instead jettisoning a barrage of torpedoes. The metal splintered and faltered before the crackle smacked against Lucesco's chest, sending him spiraling backward into a grove of street-side ravaged trees and torn-apart cars.

As soon as he plummeted, another force – one Lucesco had not been expecting – impaled him. He threw his head back, arms spread, blood splattering the ground. He howled, half in surprise and half in pain, and looked up into the eyes of his assailant.

He found two pairs. One was the light, bouncy browns of a girl with purple hair. The other pair was dark, glistening, and somehow also pale— like moonlight, sheltering in the darkness of night. He knew these eyes. The eyes of Love and Purity, the eyes of the Destined girl Yolei— and the eyes of Valdurmon, the legendary digimon destroyed centuries ago by the Council.

The Council... the unknown weavers of destiny and time and space. The ones who worked in the dark, the ones who no one ever knew existed but who everyone knew must have. The changers of fate, the directors of the light in the house, the ones beyond the Zenith Gates...

"Hahah..." Lucesco smirked. "Hahahahah... Nice seeing you again, Valdurmon... It's been a while..."

The glistening in Valdurmon's eyes brightened. The talon which impaled Lucesco shuddered.

"I'm seeing all sorts of old faces today," Lucesco said, glancing pointedly in the direction of Examon and Darkdramon. "Gennai's been busy. Hiding things from us all I see. Seems the stars really are aligning. But if you _are_ Valdurmon, you'll also know what happens next."

"And what's that?" Yolei asked, leaning over Valdurmon's head. She placed her elbows against his crown and tilted her chin on her palms. Giving a feline smile, she continued, "...You dissolve into meaningless data?"

"Your bodies are preparing for the next stage of the Enigma Evolution... you can't stop it..." he said in a voice that rumbled, hoarse, as he clutched the talon still protruding through his chest and out of his back. "You can feel your souls entwining, can't you?" Yolei's eyes glazed over. "It's the power... the power of one and all, in a single vice, beneath a single face... Out of laziness, you've allowed your partners to be injured or to allow yourselves to be injured to protect them. But in truth, you've really only sowed the seeds of your own defeat. After all... what makes you think sacrificing yourself for someone else will get you victory?

"Your souls are becoming one. And so are your bodies. What injuries you have will become the injuries of your partners. It's coming, it's here— you can't stop it, and neither can I! I'm here because you are, because I will not allow the Council to change my destiny like they created yours!"

"The Council...?" It was all Yolei managed to get out before Lucesco ripped the talon out of his body and, single-handedly, threw Valdurmon and Yolei both several feet away from him. With a massive strain, he stepped into the fray, blood jetting out of his wounds, his vision blinded by scarlet.

He was grinning. His pupils had shrunk.

"It's time now!" he bellowed, holding his arms up to the sky, to the Sun-swallowing vortex, to the heavens which hailed corrupt digimon. "You Chosen Destined fall as you should have in ancient times, and the sad ghost gods rise!"

As if on cue, Valdurmon screeched. His side tore open, spitting inky red blotches of blood that stained his feathers and coated the streets. Yolei screamed too, feeling the effects of Halsemon's earlier wounds. Nearby, Darkdramon and Davis collapsed against each other, Davis feeling his chest where a massive cut revealed layers of muscle, membrane, and bone. Tai faltered, reaching for his eye. A gash sliced open his lid and sent him half-blinded and barreling back, howling, blood gushing between his fingers. Birdramon fell screaming from the sky as her wing disintegrated before her eyes, Sora clinging desperately with her only remaining arm to her partner's feathers to keep herself steady. Angemon yelped as he reached for his charred shoulder where TK had earlier been wounded.

Those who were the least injured – Mimi, Joe, Matt, Cody, Ken, and their partners – instantly bustled about to help their fallen comrades. Shrieks filled the sky as digimon descended upon them. Azulongmon's armies fell to their own knees. Hordes of Gokimon, Pharaohmon, GranKuwagamon, MetalPhantomon, Ponchomon, and Fugamon surrounded them. Several armies of HiAndromon, Assaultmon, Cannondramon, Megidramon, and Mechanorimon took aim at the twenty-two Chosen.

Lucesco – bloody, gimping, glorious Lucesco – haggardly limped in their direction, smirking.

There were flashes in his mind. He saw the broken, yet also somehow wholesome, smile of a beaten-up brown-haired girl with a black eye and a bloody lip, warmly looking at him. He saw a flash of a black-haired female digimon wearing black leather and purple shawls, reaching out a decayed, clawed hand for his, calling him "Lucy" and "Father" and giggling at his foul expression. He saw a flash of six angels gathered around a table, himself sitting in the seventh seat at the head of the table – the black-haired woman, now blond, sitting at the opposite end, the tail – and laughing. Cherubimon drinking wine and champagne and beer. ClavisAngemon discussing politics and finances with a war-weary Seraphimon. Dominimon napping with a biscuit in his hand. GuardiAngemon sulking by his lonesome, asking how he, Lucesco, managed to maintain his work and friendships with such grace.

Lucesco saw a flash of the broken girl beneath the white sheet, staring up with dead eyes at the lighthouse on the cliff overlooking the sad ocean waves. The silly, stupid, shy prophecy girl with hair made of gold and eyes like a hawk's... and the five figures who loomed over her body with sad smiles on their faces.

"_THIS IS WHAT YOU DESTINED DESERVE_," Lucesco bellowed, launching seven glowing beams of light in the direction of the Destined, served with the attacks of all his armies hurling toward the weakened, wounded humans and their weakened, wounded digimon partners.

"_No, Lucesco!"_ said a disembodied voice inside his head. Mara. "_Daddy wouldn't like it!"_

Daddy... "_He's no daddy of mine,"_ Lucesco growled back at her.

"_Demon wouldn't like it!"_

He almost laughed. "_Well I don't like Demon!"_

"_LUCESCO!"_ She screamed back at him.

Then a third voice joined with hers. This one was more solemn, more quiet. Yet there was an edge to it that made every hair on the back of Lucesco's neck stand on end. "_It is Demon who delivers his wrath to the Destined scum,"_ the third voice said. "_We are merely keys to unlocking the doors between dimensions. The stars are aligned, Lucesco. The Necronomicon is read. Our purpose isn't to kill these Destined. They will do that themselves."_

"I DON'T CARE!" Lucesco roared, rain and thunder beating all around him, breaking in the sky above him. It scattered in the winds, whipping him in the face. He clawed at the sky. "I WILL KILL THEM ALL FOR DEFYING ME."

His voice silenced the other two.

The wave of attacks illuminated the shape of his body as he lunged. He jerked his elbow back for momentum. Then he sent his fist crashing down toward the wide-eyed, deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression of Davis Motomiya.

"I WILL KILL _**YOU**_!"

What came next was silent at first, as silent as the other two voices. Then it was followed by a crackle. A small twinkling of blue light, scattered in the air. Then the blue light bloomed into a cacophony of scorching reds, pinks, and yellows, bursting inside his vision and rippling all along his body. The light crackled and whistled and screeched, screeched like Valdurmon, screeched like the black-haired lady's voice in her final moments.

Lightning struck.

Lucesco flew into the hordes of virus digimon. Debris and shrapnel exploded around him as the digimon scattered, their attacks bursting before they could hit their target. Dizzy, he managed to watch several more bolts scatter his armies and send torrents of fluttering data to the sky – entire brigades wiped out in less than a second – and he doubled-over. Surprise seized the armies left and made them scatter. Clasping his knees, he shook his head, trying to unblur his sight.

What was happening?

That wasn't just any lightning. Lucesco could take Imperialdramon's magnum crusher and, worst yet, Dianamon's fists without a wince. Lightning did nothing to him. Yet that _lightning_, so vast, its molecular structure always shifting, belting, collapsing then constricting... It wasn't lightning at all, it was as if it were alive, yet it did not have any soul, any lungs or heart or flesh.

His attacker was nearby... he didn't know how to explain it, but he could _feel_ her. Her body, her spirit, her breath...

Hazily, still clasping his knees, Lucesco's chin rose.

Her silhouette was standing barely a yard away from him, in the center of the smoke. Her hip was cocked to the side, her hand resting on it, the other hand facing her palm in Lucesco's direction. An orb of blue crackling light hovered an inch above her fingertips.

"..._You_," Lucesco snarled.

His vision cleared just enough for him to see the lips of Kari Kamiya pull back into a smile as warm and welcoming as the beaten-up, black-eyed, bloody-lipped five-year-old girl in his memories.


	19. I&XIX Part 1: Infection

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Superman's Dead" by Our Lady Peace

**Author's Note:** So I'm writing the first arc of Saga II, and... I have to say, compared to everything in this Saga, including the finale you have not yet read, nothing in Saga I compares to what I have planned.

(-'010102000'-)

"Dreams do come true, if we only wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it."

—James M. Barrie, author of _Peter Pan_

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XIX**

... Part I: Infection ...

Kari... Kari... Kari...

Where was she?

Gatomon sifted through alleyways and abandoned homes and collapsed buildings, searching endlessly for her partner. She'd been following Kari's scent the entire time, so she knew the girl had to have gone through all these places. Last Gatomon knew, Kari had been training with Gennai to hone her powers; she was trying to contact the World of Light in order to help against the Endless Ones. She undoubtedly saw the lightning strike, and she undoubtedly knew the area the Destined were battling in.

So where was she? And why was she going through all of these places?

Then Gatomon came across it.

There, she arrived at the place where Kari's scent was freshest. She must have been through here not long ago.

Gatomon found herself across Rainbow Bridge and off the island, by a few listless docks with the bobbing boats and the glistening seashore. Here, the din of battle had dimmed. There were no digimon in sight, at least of the Dark Area's variety, though a few digimon Gatomon recognized as Azulongmon's reinforcements were lurking nearby.

Here, it was almost peaceful. Almost.

It was also here that Gatomon found a large group of people. Mostly bystanders – kids and elderly, a couple of teenagers, and some adults who didn't have digimon partners... They looked lost, glancing frantically around them, some heading toward the beach and others crouched down on the ground, holding their heads in their hands. Searching for loved ones.

Kari had gathered these people here, as well as a few of Azulongmon's reinforcements to protect them. In her wild search for Gatomon and the others, she'd gotten distracted by the helpless...

And in the process, sent Gatomon on a wild goose chase.

_She's heading toward the others now,_ Gatomon thought, instantaneously looking back toward the busy city. _She'd be there by now... the scent is fresh, but not that fresh. And she'll be there without her partner to protect her._

Gatomon bolted in the direction of the city's center, where she saw a brilliant explosion of blue electricity.

(-1020101-)

"_Kari..."_

The word came out of Davis's mouth in a breathless gasp.

A fireball unfurled around Lucesco, catching him off-guard. He looked toward Birdramon, who had recovered, and moved to attack her. Several more blows collided against him, followed by explosions and cracking concrete. Azulongmon's forces had recovered as well.

Kari was in the center of Davis's line of sight.

"Kari."

She craned her neck in his direction. It was slow at first, even hesitant. Davis was sprawled out on the ground, limbs weak, blood oozing from his wounds. But seeing her face gave him a strength he'd forgotten he had. Not knowing what he was doing, Davis scrambled to his hands and knees, then soon found himself on two running feet.

Kari's smile was directed toward him.

"Kari!"

She moved in his direction, arms spread out. Lucesco howled in rage behind her. Davis gave a big, houndish grin that overtook half his face as he dashed toward her. In seconds, he wrapped his arms around her and twirled her in a circle.

"KariKariKariKari!" he screamed.

"Okay, Davis," she said with a wavering smile, "You're kind of crushing me..."

Darkdramon snickered. "He's not enthusiastic _at all_."

"What took you so long?" Davis still hadn't relinquished his hold on her.

"I...um..."

"Oh who cares! All that matters is that you're HERE!" He twirled her around in a circle again. She laughed.

"KARI!" called out Tai, who managed to stumble in her direction, still grabbing the half of his face where the cut had marred him.

TK, too, had peered up and was now moving. "Kari...!"

"My boys..." she whispered, Davis's arms still wrapped around her torso while her two hands gestured toward Tai and TK in a welcoming motion.

Both Tai and TK collided with Davis and Kari. Their combined strength nearly knocked over the duo in their haste to unravel Davis's arms so they could get at her as well.

"No, my Kari!" Davis said, nipping at Tai's fingers.

"She's MY sister!" Tai barked, trying to pry Davis off of her as the newer goggle boy violently shook his head.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Davis was saying.

"C'mon, guys..." TK tried to nervously smile at them. "Do we really have to fight? I mean, there's been enough battling today without us fighting each other..."

Davis and Tai gave ashamed looks and lowered their hands.

"You're right, TJ," Davis said, bowing his head.

"Yeah," Tai agreed.

"It's alright." TK smiled warmly at them and patted both of them on the shoulder. "I'm just glad you see things from my point of view... suckers!" TK grinned and pounced on Kari, who squealed as she toppled backwards.

"HEY!" Davis and Tai lunged at the two in an attempt to dislodge a clinging TK from a madly-giggling Kari.

"Gee, Kari, you're a lil late to the party, arencha?" said Yolei with a joking half-grin as she winced and held her side.

Kari looked guiltily away. "I am. I got... caught up. I'm sorry."

"Where's Gatomon?" asked Ken.

Kari's guilty expression melted into one of worry. "She's not here?"

She looked from face-to-face and saw not a single expression she was hoping for. She lowered her eyes to the ground. "But..." Her brow furrowed. Then, shaking her head, she looked in Lucesco's direction. "Would he know?"

"Maybe," Cody said, stepping beside her.

Yolei held up a fist. "He would DEFINITELY know! He's creepy like that! Beat it outta him! Hell just BEAT HIM."

"Hey, you," Kari called out.

Lucesco froze. An attack from Ikkakumon struck him full-force and he didn't even flinch.

"Yes?" he replied, turning in her direction.

"I'm used to this," Kari said, motioning to the surrounding battle. The crashing structures. The attacking virus digimon. The horrid stench of death and char. "And I'm used to the bad guys not taking good advice." She looked in the direction of the ferris wheel, where Piemon had descended in a smoking pile of ash. "But I'm still surprised when people think they have to do things like this. You don't. There's still time to turn back."

_Hey, you. You didn't have to do that, I'm used to this._

Davis had said something like that to her one time.

"We've tried talking to him," Tai said. "He won't listen."

"Ohhh, but maybe I'll listen to _her,_" Lucesco replied, grinning. He looked Kari up and down. Kari choked on her own saliva.

"_...Bwuh?"_

Tai glared. "Keep away from my sister."

"Possessive, aren't we?" Lucesco chuckled.

"Tell me where Gatomon is," Kari demanded, clearing her throat, straightening her posture and pointing at Lucesco. "Or I'll do to you what I did to them."

She thumbed toward the sky, where the data of the Dark Area armies hovered and dissolved. She had demolished them without a single thought, a single weakness; she had shown no vigor over the notion, and she didn't look tired, either. It had been effortless.

Six months. That was all these Destined had to prepare for this fight. In six months, Davis and the others had shown noticeable and even decent improvement in their abilities – hell, the fact that the Destined had been able to unlock even the first stage in that amount of time was commendable – but for Kari to have progressed that much in that little of time?

_Gennai,_ Lucesco thought. _No one told me he was still alive, the old bat. He's the only one who could have trained someone this well._

_But why only the Destined of Light?_

Gennai knew the dangers that came with the Enigma Evolution. Maybe at first he hadn't realized exactly what it was the Destined recently unlocked – after all, it would have been quite a while since he witnessed someone using the Enigma Evolution – but once he identified what it was, surely he would not have been stupid enough to actually _aid _them in improving their abilities.

Out of anyone, Gennai – and the Demon Lords – knew the consequences of such a feat.

And all she wanted was to know the location of her digimon.

Lucesco threw his head back in a bellow of laughter. "Go ahead and try!"

_**CRACK**_

Her light struck him hard enough to shatter his armor. It penetrated his sternum and pushed through his left lung, then staggered to his throat where half his esophagus ripped open. Electricity jangled in his veins for a couple of seconds before searing his innards and traveling through his fingers and his toes. Blown back, the lightning had created a smoking crater where he last stood.

Blue bolts of energy sizzled around Kari. Individual strands of hair screamed into belts of green lightning that unfurled around her. Her pupils constricted, revealing layers of white electricity that rolled out of her irises and covered her face in a sheet of lightning. Skin cells and nails crackled and howled and rattled around her as she formed a massive anthropomorphic being of living lightning.

The only way to describe it was godly.

Lucesco stared wide-eyed at her for a moment, then shook his head and snickered. "Maybe..." he muttered, running his hand through his hair, "...maybe I bit off a little more than I can chew."

"_**YOU HAVE ONE MORE CHANCE**_..."

Kari's voice shook the heavens. The ground trembled beneath Lucesco's feet.

"_**TELL ME WHERE SHE IS**_..."

Lucesco looked up into those black pupils, encircled by streams of white light and crackling bolts.

"No," he said simply.

_Lucesco, no!_ said the female voice in his head. Mara...

Even the third voice spoke up. _You're still essential to the plan, Lucesco!_

"I don't care anymore," he replied, grinning up at Kari's godly form, spreading his arms out like the wings of a hawk.

(-10120101-)

"What a dumb-dumb," Dianamon grumbled at the mirror as she smashed her fist against it. Several of the windows surrounding it cracked and splintered, sending jagged shards scattered over the ground, yet the mirror remained unharmed. "Peach, he's doing that nibs thing again. Ruining all of the pretty thingies. We should punish him. Punish him hard!"

"I thought I told you not to call me peach," Demon said with a certain modicum of disgust.

"Is this really the time to nitpick?" Dianamon stubbornly kicked another window.

"You're acting like a child," Bagramon grunted. She redirected her kick into his groin.

"No..." came the low, rumbling voice of Dagomon, who stared into the Mirror, into Kari's face, her lurid eyes, her powerful arms... she had always been powerful, even as a small child. Her strength came from within. Though she had a frail body, her human shell had never contained a frail soul.

In the Digital World – a realm made of dream and data – the soul was really all that mattered. And if that dream was brought to Earth...

Dagomon smiled. "If there is anything I know about the Child of Light, it is that nothing will be ruined. She will not let it go to waste."

Bagramon, recovering, threw his head back in a laugh. "I've seen the halls of her soul! The poor thing!"

"In fact," Dagomon continued, "This may make things more... interesting."

After all, where there was dream brought into Earth, there was data. Dream and data mixed, running through her veins. Making her susceptible to all the Digital World's banes.

And if there was one thing Dagomon also knew about the Child of Light, it was that her frail body had always been so very, very susceptible...

(-1020101-)

"PENDRAGON'S GLORY." Examon.

"DARK ROAR." Darkdramon.

"HOWLING BLASTER." Garurumon.

"HELL SQUEEZE." Stingmon.

"METEOR WING." Birdramon.

"PURGE SHINE." Valdurmon.

"ELECTRO SHOCKER." Kabuterimon.

"GOLD RUSH." Digmon.

"NEEDLE SPRAY." Togemon.

"HARPOON TORPEDO." Ikkakumon.

"HAND of FATE." Angemon.

Cackling energy from Tai. Bursting magma from Davis. Spiral chrome digizoid javelins from Matt. Strangling vines from Ken. Bloodthirsty shadows from Sora. Cutting hurricane gales from Yolei. Man-shaped bludgeoning vehicles from Izzy. Jagged stalactites and stalagmites from Cody. Torrents of acidic poison from Mimi. A deluge of water from Joe. Trembling zombie hordes from TK.

All of it came hurdling in Lucesco's direction. The sky lit up with the attacks of Azulongmon's reinforcements. Missiles. Beams. Lasers. Bombs.

Lucesco raised his hands to shield his face and was surprised he could get out a single thought before the attacks hit:

How incredibly _stupid_ he had been to not just admit to the Child of Light that he had no flipping clue where her partner was.

And now he was about to die for being so damn prideful.

Lucesco squeezed his eyes shut.

He took it back. _He took it back._ He wasn't ready to die yet.

_Well,_ he thought with a bittersweet smile, _At least it's this girl who got the checkmate... Wouldn't want it any other way._

"_**WAIT**_!" The shriek hit his eardrums before the attacks. He felt a breeze press against his face, almost strong enough to push him back. He steadied himself and rooted his feet to the concrete. Then he saw a blinding flash of light that radiated from a figure in front of him, scattering, the figure holding out a hand to the incoming attacks.

Lucesco stumbled back and fell, landing hard on his tailbone. He groused and winced up at the figure who had protected him.

She, too, staggered, smoking, her fingers outstretched.

Lucesco's eyes widened.

He was completely clean. Not a scratch on him. And not because of dear Bagramon's experimentation, no— but because someone had taken the hit for him.

"What did you do?" he hissed at the figure.

Lucesco watched as Kari slowly turned around to face him. The buzzing lightning around her dimmed and flickered and turned to static that fluttered to the sky along with the data of all the digimon she'd slain. Deep gashes cut into her face. Her torso and thighs were scorched black, the skin frail as paper. Her face was scarlet, blue, and black with blood and bruises and burns. Welts the size of tangerines swelled over her eyes, the corner of her lip, and her cranium. Acid had melted entire belts of flesh off her stomach and hips and toes.

Lucesco's eyes slowly widened.

Perhaps the most shocking thing was Kari's expression.

She pulled her blistered, cracked lips into a warm, welcoming smile.

"I couldn't do it," she said in a hoarse voice. "I couldn't let someone with that face get hurt."

That face...?

"I can't let a lonely person die by the hands of people who could be their friends," she said, then collapsed to her knees.

"KARI!" screamed Davis, Tai, TK, and Yolei all at once.

"I thought..." Kari's face smacked against the concrete, her skin – so delicate now by the force of the attacks – bursting open in a wave of blood and pus. "...I could kill you..." Tears welled in her swelled-up eyes. "...But I can't do it to someone who could be my friend... You looked like he did... back then... at that moment..."

Davis.

When Davis was too broken to move, unable to defend himself, she had taken the beating for him. Over and over again, she'd allowed herself to be kicked and punched and shoved, never complaining, never fighting back, never crying out. She had seen something in Davis that she had seen in herself, every time she looked into the mirror.

Loneliness.

And now it was that loneliness she'd seen reflected in Lucesco's eyes which made her do the same thing Lucesco had: take it back. Lucesco hadn't been ready to die yet. Kari hadn't been ready to kill him yet.

"Close your eyes, Kari Kamiya," Lucesco whispered. But she never had the chance to follow his command.

(-20010101-)

"Kari...?"

Gatomon's head tilted to the side as she stepped into the fray.

Kari was staring blankly ahead. She wasn't moving.

At first, Gatomon hadn't even realized it was Kari she was staring at; if it weren't for the pink hairclip that fell out of her hair and onto the ground before she was struck, Gatomon wouldn't have believed it. It was scalded and scorched, bloody and bruised. It was pulped. It was covered in black coils of smoke. It was not, it could not, be human. It was...

"Kari!"

All the air left Gatomon's lungs as she screamed. Bolting, she was the first to reach Kari's side. Her paw reached for Kari's cheek, tears filling her eyes, her heart ramming against her chest. She could feel every heave of her body give out as she landed hard against the ground beside her partner.

"_Kari...!_"

As soon as her paw touched Kari's shoulder, it oozed blood and melted flesh that stuck to her fur. Gatomon's wails pierced the sky, her fingers trembling as she frantically tried to shake Kari awake.

"_KARI!_"

Even though Kari's eyes were open, she didn't respond.

"_KARI!"_

She still didn't move.

"_**KARI!**_"

That was when Gatomon realized she couldn't hear Kari's heart. She couldn't smell Kari's breath. She couldn't feel Kari's pulse. With a _whump_, Tai fell on his knees opposite of Gatomon. TK and Davis stood behind him, their arms limp at their sides, their heads tipped down. TK had gone silent, stony-faced. Davis had to step back, shaking his head, a hand reaching for his lips.

Then came the voices in her head. _What a funny-looking kitty,_ one of them said. It was a young voice._ Hi there,_ the voice continued, making her stop._ Are you a friend of Agumon's?_ Gatomon didn't answer._ Are you one of them? _Gatomon still didn't answer, so the voice went on,_ What's your name?_ When Gatomon chose to walk away, the voice shouted,_ Wait, don't go!_

It was Kari's voice and the moment they met.

"Don't go," Gatomon replied, releasing Kari's shoulder. "Don't go..." _Wait, don't go!_ "DON'T GO, KARI!"

_**SNAP**_

Lucesco's arm lodged itself between Kari's shoulder blades. Gatomon screamed. Tai, Davis, and TK immediately leaped into action, barreling forward. Gatomon lashed out not a second behind them, but Lucesco avoided their swipes. What little life might have been left inside Kari was smothered in an instant as his hand burst through the center of her chest.

Lucesco's eyes lit up as blood splattered his face.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Gatomon roared, lunging.

Lucesco dodged, still holding Kari, then yanked his elbow back. His fingers wrapped around her heart as he moved between Gatomon's swipes. Several times her claws caught his shins, ripping through layers of skin, but he continued holding the small girl in his arms.

Fingers digging into the thin membrane encasing Kari's heart, Lucesco glanced toward Kari's face and the dead smile still implanted there.

"GIVE HER BACK!" Gatomon screamed, punching Lucesco in the stomach.

As Lucesco hit the ground, ribbons of blackness – tangible and cold – exploded around his hand. Each ribbon twisted around Kari's body, sheathing her arms, her legs, wrapping around her heart. They lifted her off her feet and burst around her, the blackness seeping into her skin, into her core.

Gatomon didn't stop when Lucesco did. She continued lunging. Lifting her paw, she plunged her claws deep inside his already ripped-open chest and tore his torso wide. Screaming, she continued pounding into him with every ounce of strength she had.

_**SMACK SMACK SMACK**_

Lucesco's eyes wandered to Kari's motionless body. The blackness had disappeared, leaving only a fragile-looking human girl lying motionlessly on the ground. He then looked back at Gatomon.

_**SMACK SMACK SMACK**_

He laughed.

"It's coming..." he muttered, before Gatomon's claws tore off his upper-lip.

And a spark of life flashed across the dead Kari's eyes.


	20. I&XX Part 2: Queen In Yellow

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Cry Little Sister" by Gerard McMann

(-'010102000'-)

The last thing Kari saw was Gatomon's stunned expression. It only lasted for a second – a silhouette of a white kitty stepping into view, her movements unsure – but it was enough to make Kari smile. Even if Lucesco hadn't given up Gatomon's location, Kari could at least die knowing Gatomon was safe.

_Funny,_ she thought as her vision blurred. _Here I provoked everybody to attack Lucesco in order to find out Gatomon's location, and she was nearby all along... I think that's called irony, isn't it? Right?_

Then the Child of Light found herself – her mind, her sight, her soul – encased by an endless, cold blackness.

(-1020101-)

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XX**

... Part II: Queen in Yellow ...

Two years before their adventures in the Digital World, Tai Kamiya was sent home from school with a high fever. It was the highest he ever had. Today, Tai did not remember much about it. Most of the process went by in a blur. He remembered taking a lot of ice baths. He remembered looking outside at the rain, and how it made the mist look like a big, clawed monster, unfurling tendrils of smoke that tried to clutch at him in the window. The rain reminded him of fingerpaints, a collage assembling in a hazy and slow process. Each pitter-patter of the raindrops hitting the roof pounded against his skull.

After a week, Tai felt somewhat better. He remembered waking up one morning and sauntering to the kitchen, plopping down on a stool in front of the island, and looking up at the sight of his baby sister standing on a chair cooking eggs in a pan.

"_What are you doing?"_ he'd asked frantically. _"You're too little to cook!"_

Kari answered with a sharp toot from the whistle clamped firmly between her lips. He knew without her saying a word that she was determined to cook for him no matter what he said. With another defiant whistle, she flipped one of the fried eggs over on its face.

The little girl gave a big, proud grin.

"_Let Mom cook,"_ Tai groused, resting his head on the countertop. His temple was aching again. Sharp pangs traveled down the contours of his skull, ringing. Wincing, Tai glanced up at his sister. She hadn't budged. Wait, no, he took it back... even if their mom was home, her cooking... he shuddered. _"You don't have to cook for me..."_

At that age, Kari hated fried eggs. She didn't mind sunny side-ups – at least the yokes – but she hated the whites with a passion and always refused to eat them. If she could have her choice of cooked eggs, it would be scrambled, or maybe poached if it was in her ramen noodles. So... those eggs definitely weren't for her.

He could hear the bacon spitting in a pan next to the eggs. The aroma of frying, salty meat filled the kitchen.

Tai's stomach gave a lurch.

"_Kari..."_ he mumbled, clenching his loud-ass stomach in a lousy attempt at silencing it.

With a sigh, Kari let the whistle dangle loosely around her neck.

"_You always take care of me when I'm sick..."_ she replied. _"So lemme take care of you once. 'kay, big bro?"_

"Kari." Tai hadn't realized it when he'd sunk to his knees beside her body. With shaking hands, he lifted her off the ground and placed her on his lap, one of his hands delicately grazing her cheek, then moving a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Why did you do that?" he asked in a broken voice, his brow furrowing. "Why do you always have to take care of everyone?"

"That's who she is," TK whispered in a voice just as broken as Tai's. He turned in Lucesco's direction, his brow furrowing, his teeth gritting. Clamping his hands into fists, TK motioned to punch Lucesco. "Kari never thinks of herself first!"

_**CRACK**_

TK's fist plowed into Lucesco's face. He fumbled backwards, tripping. He dodged one of Gatomon's paws, only for TK to upper-cut him in the jaw a second later.

In the near distance, Tai could hear the others scrambling to get closer. A Phelesmon and MetalPhantomon destroyed the ground at their feet and redirected their attention. Yolei was still approaching though, like a bullet. Of course... besides TK, Yolei had always been Kari's best friend, ever since their adventures together in the Digital World. Before then, Kari had never even noticed Yolei. Maybe a part of her had felt guilty for that, because she knew all too well the pain of going unnoticed... and Yolei had gone unnoticed practically her entire life until the Digital World, like Kari.

Tai was still shaking, even now. Davis was silent in front of him. He buried his face in his hands, trembling. Tai could hear him sobbing.

(-10120101-)

For a while, Kari floated in the endless darkness. She couldn't feel the pain of her physical body, but she could feel the cold weight of the world gravitating her through the darkness of her mind; the shadows gripped her ankles and her wrists and her throat, restraining her, stopping her from ever escaping.

At first, Kari struggled. Her roars rang in the stillness, limbs flexing and pumping as she kicked and punched at the air in order to get free. Soon she realized it was useless. She could never leave the darkness, the ribbons which catapulted her through the endless space of nothing.

Then she slept. Her dreams seemed to go on forever. She didn't know how long she had slept, but when she awoke, rather than finding herself in that endless darkness, she awoke inside a vast, green meadow. There was no darkness, no ribbons that were stronger than steel.

Dawn dewdrops clung to long blades of fresh grass. Cat tails wavered in a breeze. Nearby, Kari looked up to see a forest populated by plum and orange trees, a spectrum of oaks and willows and elms that bristled in the gales that clapped against the green leaves. Pinnate-shaped bushels of berries and herbs accompanied a sea of soil and flowers. Petals fluttered, reflecting the early sunlight; above them, the canopy was so thick that barely any sunshine escaped between the leaves in diamond-shaped beams.

That all was above Kari on the eave of a cliff, though. The cliff soared high above her head, stooping over a nearby ocean that clasped at the golden grains of the beach. The meadow was between the forest and the shore, separating them, as the cliff hosted a tall, white lighthouse. Its axles squealed as the light beamed out of the house atop, pouring into the daylight.

Why was the light shining even during the day?

And when did Kari arrive in a meadow?

The last thing she remembered... she'd stepped in front of Lucesco to shield him from her friends' attacks.

Ah yes, that was it. She thought Lucesco knew the location of Gatomon, and she encouraged the others to attack him all at the same time. At the last moment, however, he'd given such a pained expression that Kari couldn't bear the thought of letting him die, especially at her provocation.

So instead she took his place against the attacks.

All for a bit of information she didn't even need, because Gatomon arrived just as she died...

_I was useless,_ she thought, looking at her hands. What would the others do now? She was the only one who could contact the World of Light. Without that world's help, how could they defend Earth and the Digital World from the Endless Ones like Gennai predicted?

"You're not useless," said a voice beside her.

Kari nearly bolted to her feet out of shock. Twisting around, she saw another girl was sitting beside her, staring off at the ocean waves. White seafoam tore at the latest layer of sand, skinning it.

The girl was odd, and a little sad-looking. She had blond hair. Kari wanted to say it looked similar to the shade of TK and Matt's hair, but it was a hue darker than that. Like gold. The girl had freckles that dotted her cheeks and arms, and her skin was dark. Perhaps her eyes, however, were the oddest part about her; they were almond-shaped and narrow, and had a bronze color about them that was flecked by grayish layers. They reminded Kari of a hawk's eyes.

Then she realized she'd seen those eyes before, long ago, when she was a little girl in the Digital World. Her memory strained to find the exact events, but she couldn't...

"It's the curse," the girl said, turning to look at Kari. "Very few have the privilege of remembering me. I am the girl everyone forgot."

The girl everyone forgot... Kari bowed her head. She'd been there, done that.

As if reading Kari's thoughts, the girl smiled. "We are friends, Kari."

"But I don't remember you," Kari said, her brow furrowing.

"We have been friends since you were little," the woman continued, clasping Kari's hands in her own. "If only you could remember what I told you... back then, as WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon waged war on each other in the sky, reflecting the breaking bond of their partners... Oh, I don't know why I'm trying," she said with an impatient sigh, more to herself than to Kari. She looked sadly at the sky. "I'm the useless one."

Kari blinked at her. "Don't be so down on yourself."

"It's here, Kari," the girl told her, finally looking back at her. Their gazes locked. Kari felt the pores on her arms tingle. "I tried to stop it. I tried to seal it away, deep inside you. But I can't. He's unlocked it and now I'm powerless against it. I'm sorry, but things are going to be very different from now on... You're about to discover, Kari Kamiya, why it is that you are unable to contact the World of Light...

"You are about to realize what a light which glares can truly ruin."

Then it struck Kari like a iron-clad punch in the gut, hard enough to knock the wind out of her. Gennai mentioned the light which obscures, the glare, the light which blinds, which creates shadow... Kari reached out to clasp tighter to the girl, but she was dissolving into data.

Her smile was the first to leave Kari's line of sight, blue flakes fluttering to the turquoise sky and the yellow shine.

"I'm sorry, Kari..." she whispered. "Ever since you were little, ever since you were chosen to bear my light, you have had this darkness inside of you," she continued, her hands now fading. "Because I never had the chance to face my own darkness, now it is a responsibility you must deal with. I am so, so incredibly sorry, my dear, sweet Kari Kamiya... I am so sorry... I am so sorry..."

Then she disappeared into the light.

"Hey," Kari whispered, reaching out for the ascending data. "Don't go," she said, her voice growing hoarse. "Don't go!" She didn't know why, but there was a cold feeling crawling through her chest. "I said don't leave!"

But the girl didn't stay.

A flash of a white cat walking through a wood clashed against Kari's memories before it too, like the girl, faded.

The meadow rumbled beneath Kari's feet. She looked down to see cracks forming deep fissures beneath the grass. Flowers and butterflies were sucked into the darkness under, apertures great and grand that tore into the soil and dragged down the trees. The cliff holding the lighthouse trembled. The light which poured out of it tinted, dimmed, then flickered out.

When the light turned back on, instead of flourishing with that white light, it burned with a ray of crackling, seething shadow that curled like fingers as it ushered out of the lighthouse... no, not the lighthouse, the _darkhouse_.

The ribbons of darkness screamed out of the cracks in the earth. They twisted and tangled in the air, reaching out, clawing at the sky, then cavorted upon Kari. Kari, too, screamed, trying to pry them off of her, but she couldn't.

The green meadow which smelled so strongly of honeysuckle and catnip burst into a blazing inferno that consumed Kari whole.

"NO!" she roared, scratching at the flame, at the darkness. The crashing waves of the shore shot up to the sky, high enough to abolish the cliffside, and tore the darkhouse off its hinges. The gray waves smothered the flame and dragged Kari away, dragging her deep into their depths, where she continued to struggle against the darkness.

The ribbons wrapped around her ankles and hauled her deeper into the gray watery depths. She felt the burn of water entering her lungs, traveling through her veins, scorching her dry eyes. She continued lashing out at everything around her, trying to free herself, but she couldn't. It was too strong.

Deeper and deeper the darkness dragged her, until she, just as earlier, could no longer struggle.

Then, in the deepest caverns of the gray ocean, she saw something take shape. Her eyes widened. Bubbles twitched around her arms and nostrils as she flung back in the water. The shape was approaching her in the water, but it didn't look as if it were swimming.

It was walking. In water. And the water wasn't weighing down its movements; in fact, its gait was light, powerful, with a presence.

**thhhhhh**

Kari wanted to scream, but more water filled her mouth and poured down her throat.

She knew it... she knew the moment she saw the silhouette in the water, who it was... How could she forget the figure? She'd seen it in so many nightmares, so many times...

**thhhhhhh**

...The woman in yellow which haunted her dreams.

The woman was dressed in a black and yellow gown, with frills that cantered to her feet. Flouncing furbelows accompanied big bright bows of black ribbon and satin, soaked, but still gliding like the woman. Her lips were sewn shut by black sutures; her nails clung to her fingers through stitches, and her eyelids were clamped shut, also sewn there by the black thread.

Kari struggled against the ribbons of darkness. _NO,_ she screamed at the darkness, clawing wildly at the ribbons shackling her ankles. _ANYTHING BUT THIS... ANYTHING BUT THIS..._

Months ago, Kari had described the Woman In Yellow as being many different Karis all sewn together in one body. Patches of differently-colored skin were connected together through black seams that ran along the woman's forehead, cheeks, chin, and bare arms.

_GET ME AWAY FROM HER..._

When she finally realized the darkness would not release her, Kari turned back to the Woman In Yellow and smacked her palm against the woman's face. Her hand clamping against the woman's expression, Kari thought, _NOT THIS TIME._

Lightning screamed out of Kari's palm and lanced straight through the Woman In Yellow's head. The Woman in Yellow flipped through the ocean water.

**Thhhhh**

The woman stopped and craned her neck up at Kari. There wasn't a bruise on her from the attack.

**Crkcrk**

Kari could hear sounds in the water. Bubbles glistened around the woman's joints as she cracked her bones. With a loud _**SNAP**_, the woman's elbow inverted itself. The other elbow followed right after. The woman bent forward, her hands level with her feet, and turned her placid expression in Kari's direction.

A disembodied voice filled Kari's head.

**You can't escape this time,** it said.

The Woman In Yellow pulled her lips back in a stitched-lip grin that simpered at an impossible arch ear-to-ear.

**I will kill you.**

And the stitches sewing her lips together cracked open like an egg shell, revealing a long, double tongue inside her mouth that slithered between her lips.

**And I will eat your soul.**

The Woman In Yellow surged forward and opened her mouth wide enough to unhinge her jaw. With a hungry howl, the woman then plunged, teeth five-foot-long sabers spitting yellow saliva,

and cleaved Kari's head clean off her neck.

(-1020101-)

_One of the many reasons why we love Kari Kamiya..._

She always thought about others before herself. She was clever and passionate and compassionate. At times, she could tease a little more than she should have, but she would always apologize when she took it too far... unless it was against Davis, because she knew Davis could take it, even if he whined about it. Kari was sweet, and _powerful_. Her body might not have the muscles that Tai or Ken or Cody did from martial arts training, or the muscles Davis and TK and Sora had from many hours of athletic training. She did not have the immune system of Yolei or Mimi or Matt or Izzy, who never seemed to get sick. Even emotionally, there were times she broke down worse than Joe.

But she was still powerful.

And she was still _theirs_, their Kari.

Tai's Kari.

He buried his face in her scorched chest, his fingers clasping desperately at her shoulders as he cradled his darling baby sister in his arms. "Kari... Kari... Kari..."

"Big... broth...er...?"

Tai's head shot up. "Kari?"

Her eyes still stared blankly up at the sky, but he was sure he heard her voice. Davis looked up from his hands and stared down at her motionless body.

Something flickered behind her eyes. What was it? Her pupils swayed, then directed toward Tai.

"Big... broth...er," she croaked, her head tilting to the side. Though she was staring at him and talking, her expression was still blank.

"Kari!" Tai screamed, hugging her tightly to his chest. Davis yelped and leaped forward, trying to hug her as well. TK and Gatomon instantly halted in their barbarous trek to crane around. "Kari, oh my God, you're alive! You're alive!"

"Let me take care of you..." Kari croaked, one of her hands weakly grazing his cheek.

Tai smiled sadly.

"Sorry, sis," Tai said, still cradling her. "But I think this time, you better just relax and let the Cutemon work their magic mojo."

"No, big...broth...er." Her fingers clamped down on his face. "_I'm going to take care of you now._"

_**SNAAAP**_

Electricity unfurled from her palm and plowed through Tai's face. He barreled backwards, flipping through the air. He screeched in surprise and punched his knuckles into the ground, skidding to a halt and landing back on his feet. His brow furrowed as he instantly looked back at her, blood coursing down his neck where the blast caught his cheek.

Luckily, it mostly skimmed. He'd managed to dodge the worst of it, but even with a mere graze, he was blown back.

"DAVIS," Tai cried out, holding out a hand.

Davis reacted instinctively and also leaped back, just in time to avoid another beam of electricity.

"Kari!" Davis yelled, trying to get back to her even though she was attacking him.

"I... have to... take care of you..." Kari said with a perfunctory tone, her expression still blank, her head cocked to the side. "Come back... I want to help..."

"Yeah, that's not helping, Kari!" Davis shouted. "Snap outta' it!"

"Not helping...?" Kari's neck snapped as she cocked her head to the _other_ side. "But you are weak..." She blinked. "I am helping the world..."

Davis pulled back a little. "What are you...?"

"Davis, move!" Tai called just barely in time. Another flash of light ruptured the ground at Davis's feet. The impact alone was enough to drive him through an entire building before he stopped himself to bend over and cough. Clumps of flesh and blood oozed out of his mouth.

"Hate to break it to ya," Davis said, glancing at Tai as he continued vomiting blood, "But I ain't doin' so well, man."

He was clutching his chest where Darkdramon's own wound had yet to heal. Tai could see the membrane of one organ; shivers tingled his spine. The others— they were distracted, had they seen yet what Kari was doing? No, he couldn't direct their attention away... not yet. What was wrong with her? Why would Kari attack him?

"Gennai asked me if I illuminate or obscure..." _crkcrk_ her head craned "...I finally know the answer, Tai!" _crkcrk_ "your little sister..." her lips trembled "...she obscures! Aren't you _**PROUD**_?"

and curled into a Cheshire cat grin

"Davis!" TK's initial shock wavered as he arrived at Davis's location. He grabbed him by the shoulder and helped him to his feet, aiding Davis in keeping his insides where they were supposed to be. Half-wincing from the pain in his own shoulder, he asked, "What's going on with Kari?"

"I don't know..." Davis growled through gritting teeth, "...but whatever it is, we're gonna find out!"

Kari anchored her hands to her temples, her fingernails renting the thin layer of skin encasing her skull. Giggling, Kari said, "I can hear voices in my head... they want me to kill you... I'll do it..." Her voice dropped an octave as her eyes flickered in the direction of TK and Davis. "I'll kill my boys. Poor little lonely Davis Motomiya who thinks I'm his property and the judgmental, prejudiced Takeru Takaishi who stands up in his ivory tower looking down on us all... My boys have been very, very bad lately...

"Time to punish them..."

"Heh," Davis said through gritting teeth, "Insert dominatrix joke here. Oh, to hell with it... Baby, punish me!"

"This isn't you," TK said, his brow furrowing. "It can't be. Kari would never say these things. She would never attack her friends!"

"Consider that maybe a part of me always wanted to..." she said. "You all always feel the need to protect me. Like I'm weak. Like I need saving, a burden. I have always wanted to prove to you... what I am capable of... Especially you, TK. My knight in shining armor." She looked at her palm, shining with blood-sewn electricity. "You've been away lately, though... These last six months, training with Devimon. And I've been inside my head, trying not to go insane... talking to the voices... chirping chirping chirping away they go, as I try to talk to the Light Beings, but they only talk to one another. I'm trying to save you but you are never around. Don't think I haven't noticed the timing, best friend. You can give a girl a complex, you know— pretend to be someone she can trust, a confidant, then when she gets a boyfriend you suddenly abandon her. What a great person. What a great _friend. _What a _piece of work._ I see now who you are. The mask your angel face wears."

TK stepped back. Davis and Tai had never seen his eyes so wide, his face so pale.

"Kari, I... It's not like that..." he started, but she held up a hand.

"What, were you hurt?" she asked, tilting her head to the side again. "Did my finding love drive you away? You're my best friend. I'm supposed to be _your _best friend. Part of my soul was stolen from me. Your arch nemesis rose from a dead world to train you. We had a _lot_ to talk about, to support each other for. But we didn't."

TK struggled to find the right words. Finally relenting, he bowed his head. "You're right," he replied, "There isn't really any good excuse. I'm sorry. My only explanation is that I... I was in pain. Being around you hurt. A lot. Because..."

"I know why," Kari replied in that mechanical tone. "Seeing your reaction to me falling in love with someone else..." She smiled. "You proved what I feared most. That you were never really my friend. You always had an ulterior motive." Her hands sunk into the gravel.

"Kari, that's ridicu—" TK began, but she interrupted:

"So you lost me." Electricity crackled. "And I'm sorry, best friend mine, but there is no place for cowards in my world! Let me help you with that courage problem!"

A surge of light blasted TK. Davis grabbed him by the elbow and jerked him out of the way. TK rolled several times before stopping, his brow furrowed, chest panting. He looked up at Davis and the two locked gazes.

"It's not her..." Davis tried to say, "She'd never say that. She doesn't think that."

Davis, comforting TK... Davis, trying to mend the sting of Kari's words...

How did this happen?

TK grabbed his forehead, obscuring his eyes from Davis's view.

"What a turnaround!" Kari laughed, shoving Davis away from TK. "Excuse me, Landlord," she grunted as her strength forced Davis to splutter through the air. "I'm talking to someone. Who isn't you. Who will never be you. Thank God for that." She crouched above TK, who had gone numb and limp. Grabbing him by his collar, Kari leaned in and said, "I just want to remind you... what little good you witnessed in Devimon was the exception, not the rule. You're right, TK. I'm living proof. Dark creatures like me and Devimon... we exist for the sole purpose of _fucking you up. _Can you kill me? Can you destroy me like you so easily destroy them? Because I am _just like them _now._"_

"Get away from him!" Davis growled, wrenching TK from Kari and, though injured, using himself as a barrier between them. "Tai! We have to figure out what Lucesco did to her!"

"Gatomon!" Tai said with a commanding voice, but Gatomon hadn't heard him. She was still staring at Kari, unable to move, paralyzed and immobilized. "_Gatomon_!"

His voice rang into her hollow mind, where only stunned static remained.

"_**GATOMON!**_"


	21. I&XXI Part 3: The Glare

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Magia" by Kalafina

**Author's Notes:** You can listen to each theme song by clicking on a link provided by my profile! It links to The Lighthouse Soundtrack on YouTube.

(-'010102000'-)

"There are two kinds of light – the glow that illumines, and the glare that obscures."

-James Thurber

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXI**

... Part III: The Glare ...

Tai's words fell on deaf ears.

Kari. Kari. _Kari. __**Kari**_.

Gatomon's paw reached out for the girl with the demonic smile and the wide eyes and the berserk giggle. Gatomon's partner was alive. She thought she'd died, but here the human girl was, moving, laughing, practically _jiving_ with unbridled energy that seethed out of her hands and feet. Gatomon stumbled toward her partner.

"Kari..." she whispered.

"Gatomon!" Tai was calling out. "Quick, we have to find out what Lucesco did to her! Get him, now!"

"Kari!" Gatomon ran in the opposite direction of Lucesco, straight into Kari's arms. "Kari, I thought... I thought you were dead!"

"GATOMON!" Tai screamed.

"Ga...to...mon...?" Kari tilted her head to the side, her smile vanishing back into that half-blank, half-curious stare. Her neck cracked. "Ga...to...mon... don't go..."

"I'm not going anywhere, Kari," Gatomon said, hugging her, burying her face in Kari's chest. "I love you! I will do anything for you!"

"I'll protect you," Kari said, tilting her head to the other side. "I'll protect you from him." She blinked in Lucesco's direction. "I'll protect you from them all."

Her lips slid into that wide, scarecrow grin, her teeth showing, her fingers crackling.

"GATOMON!" Tai screamed again, rushing in their direction, his hand reaching out for her.

He was too late. When Kari rested her hand on Gatomon's shoulder, jolts of electricity ran down Gatomon's arm and legs, illuminating her eyes. Gatomon shrieked, bouncing back, somehow still alive, and hissed, convulsing. Kari flicked her wrist and strode closer to her digimon partner, still smiling.

_Crkcrk._ She craned her neck to the other side. "I'm hungry, Gatomon..." she said. "I'm hungry for data..." Her eyes brightened. "I'm hungry for souls. Give me yours."

"K... Kari...?" Gatomon squeezed one eye shut while looking at Kari with the other. Another volt traveled through her body and she threw her head back in a silent scream.

"Do that for me," Kari grinned. "That's all I ask."

Tai made it to Gatomon's side before Kari could. He stood in front of the feline digimon, his arms outspread. "Stop!" he said, "You don't want to do this, sis!"

"But I do..." _crkcrk_ "Why else would I be doing it?" _crkcrk_ "I don't understand you people. You want me to take care of you, don't you?"

"This isn't taking care of us," Tai replied. "This is slaughter!"

"Slaughter..." Kari's smirk widened. "I like slaughter. Bloody, chaotic slaughter."

"You're wrong!" Davis belted, rising from TK's side and clasping Kari by the shoulders. "You like fields, filled with green grass. Children playing on them, side-by-side with their digimon partners. A breeze whistling through tree leaves. Firebugs lighting up warm July nights. The smell of fall and the leather of a soccer ball— it reminds you of Tai. Snuggling into a comforter with a good book and a mug of hot chocolate, in front of a roaring fire. You like smiles. You like peace. You like bouquets of aster flowers and subtle candlelight. You like it when people ask questions, so they do not misunderstand. Your favorite genre is _classical music,_ for frick's sake!"

"Yes... so they do not misunderstand..." Kari nodded. "If there is more chaos, people will ask me many many many questions! And I can help them! I can show them... _THAT I CAN SAVE THEM."_

The blue lightning crackling around her turned black.

"CHILDREN, LISTEN TO MS. KAMIYA NOW," she said, "...MS. KAMIYA KNOWS BEST."

With a flick of her wrist, it minced the concrete beneath Tai's feet and threw him up in the air. With another flick, a bolt struck through his shoulder, sending tinier volts through his bloodstream as he snarled. He heard Gatomon call out his name, her paw reaching up for him, only for her to be swallowed in another wave of black electricity. Davis went flying back into TK, who barely caught him.

"Kari!" Yolei called. Kari twisted in her direction and sent her, too, spiraling back into Valdurmon and Sora. Whirling in the opposite direction, an attack collided with Matt and Garurumon, who were forced into Joe and Mimi. She flipped another bolt of electricity forward; Izzy caught it with his own Enigma abilities and attempted to turn it on her, but she redirected it into Kabuterimon.

"Kabuterimon!" Izzy cried before Kari caught him in the shoulder and sent him crashing into Cody and Digmon.

With a hard _**whump**_, Tai landed beside Gatomon. Both of them were panting, trembling from the aftershocks, unable to control their own limbs. Gatomon managed to get on her hands and knees, grimacing.

"Who are you?" Gatomon hissed.

"Who am I? You don't know? I'm Kari, Gatomon." Her smirk wavered. "You don't recognize me?" Her smirk faded. "I thought I was someone special to you..." Tears filled her eyes. "But then, I'm not your first master... I guess I shouldn't have expected to be the last."

"Master...?" Gatomon gritted her teeth. _Don't look at me with those eyes,_ how many times had Myotismon told her that before she felt his whip slash through her cheek? How many times were her paws rend, shredded, by Myotismon's attacks, just for every defiant look she gave?

Kari wasn't like that... that was why Gatomon loved her, why she chose Kari over Myotismon. Because Kari had shown her a world Gatomon did not even realize existed... or, more like, Gatomon knew that world existed, but she did not know she could grasp it... and the world Gatomon spoke of was not _Earth_. It was kindness. Compassion. Family. Love, _light_. Courage and friendship and knowledge, reliability and purity and hope. Miracles. This was a world Gatomon knew _other_ people could embrace whole-heartedly, she had seen it a few times, but she had never thought it possible that _she_ could embrace it.

She never thought she was worthy of that life, no matter how hard she searched, no matter how far she reached, no matter how many times she cried. It would never be hers.

It was Kari, with Wizardmon's kind words of support, who proved to her that it could be. It would be. That Gatomon _deserved_ that world.

Kari taught her that Gatomon needed no master. That it was okay to be her own mon. That it was okay to follow her own rules and live by her own desires. It was okay to love, it was okay to let others in. That not everyone would use her vulnerabilities as a weapon to hurt her.

That was something Gatomon, at the time, had long forgotten.

"You were never my master," Gatomon said between her clenched fangs. She could feel the trembling in her clenched paws jolt up her arms. "_Kari_ never saw herself as my _master_. She saw herself as my partner. No, not even as my partner... she saw herself as my _friend_, my equal, my sister, my _family_. The real Kari would know better than to _ever_ call herself my 'master'."

_crkcrk._ "But isn't that all that you are?" _crkcrk_ "A pet? A lil kitty-kitty? And I am your owner..."

"I'm not a possession! LIGHTNING PAW!" The attack struck Kari right across the face. Three scratches oozed blood. Kari's eyes snapped wide open. "Wake up!" Gatomon snarled. "Wake up, damn you, and see what you're doing to the people you love! All of these people... these humans and the digimon standing beside them... all of the ones surrounding you... they are _all _your partners! They are your friends! They are your equals! _They are your family_! So WAKE UP and SNAP OUT OF IT. _**LIGHTNING PAW!**_"

Kari caught Gatomon's paw. Gatomon stumbled. Kari's wide eyes narrowed as she slowly looked back at Gatomon. "You hit me," she said in a low voice. "I didn't like it." _**SNAP**_. Her grip tightened around Gatomon's wrist.

"Tch." Gatomon bit down, glaring at Kari.

" 'Wake up, snap out of it!' " Kari mocked. "_I am awake_. My eyes have never been more open, Gatomon," she said. "Day in, day out, I'm always taking care of all you..." Kari looked up at the sky. What fascination and innocent curiosity lied beneath those doe-browns dissolved into a dull boredom. "I never think of myself. When I have a problem, I don't rely on anyone to help me. Sure, I sometimes call out to Tai or TK or you to save me, but those are moments when I consider myself weak and insubordinate and pathetic. And despite that I hardly call out for help, still you all believe I need to be _protected._"

"You weren't weak," Gatomon hissed, latching her free hand onto Kari's. "_Never_ weak for needing help. That does not make you _weak_. That makes you _real_. We don't protect you because you're _weak, _we protect you because we _love_ you."

"I was never a selfish girl," Kari whispered, finally looking back at Gatomon. "I rarely asked for help. I took everything onto my shoulders. I told Gennai I was determined to contact the World of Light before this attack happened, and I failed. I have never been the strongest one. I give power, I do not own it.

"I am one of the most experienced Destined, yet _Davis_, poor, foolish, idiotic _Davis_ surpassed me. Davis, who boasts of a great intelligence and strength he does not possess. Davis, who speaks before he thinks. Davis, who thinks he has far more friends than he in actuality has. And Yolei? Yolei, the girl who always cries and whines, whose greatest dream was eating _dessert_, how could she surpass me? Cody, the boy who never speaks, the arrogant, stuck-up boy who thinks he is superior to everyone surrounding him, but in actuality he is merely _afraid_. Afraid of conflict. Afraid of being wrong. Afraid to realize his opinions don't really matter, so he says nothing. An insect, a doormat. Like me. And yet he still rises far above me. And Ken! The malicious, the kind, the mercurial dethroned Emperor who knows nothing of social interaction! How can these people surpass me? Oh yes, that's right...

"The Girl of Light was pathetic."

"That's not true!" Davis shouted. "Kari is just as strong as the rest of us! We're all just... _pieces... _you know? We each contribute a part to the team!"

"I don't need your pity!" Kari spat, throwing Gatomon into Davis's face. The two rolled over several times and thumped to a stop against a collapsed bank.

(-1020110-)

_This power..._ Davis thought, half-wincing as he tried to stand. Gatomon bent over, hacking, clasping her kneecaps. The wind got knocked out of her. He glanced up at Kari's form. Black energy was simmering around her like a cesspool. _I've felt it before..._

_I know this power..._

_This energy..._

_I saw her lose control once, six months ago when we were facing that Jackal enemy in the Dark Ocean..._

_She nearly killed him until I stopped her, because I knew Kari wouldn't have wanted to abuse her power like that. Defeating the enemy, definitely; but not like that. Not as a bloodthirsty berserker, but as Kari Kamiya._

_Back then, she lost herself, just like now..._

_But somehow, this is different. It's similar, but still... this time it's more... _**feral**_._

_It's as if..._

_It's as if Kari's essence in itself has been corrupted._

(-1021010-)

"I'm happy now," Kari told Gatomon. "Now I'll take care of you all... so that I never have to take care of you again."

Darkness exploded beneath the ground. Tendrils of thick, tangible, black heat jutted up to the sky, scraping the vortex. The data of Nightmare Soldiers and Azulongmon Reinforcements alike scattered in the wind, their dying screams fading. Entire buildings were skewered in the ensuing spiking explosions that rattled the city streets.

Sora, Birdramon, Matt, Garurumon, Joe, and Ikkakumon were plowed back into Mimi, Togemon, Yolei, and Valdurmon. Examon and Stingmon collapsed as dark spikes lanced through their stomachs. Nearby, Tai and Ken buckled over. Izzy and Kabuterimon lunged in Kari's direction, but were thrown back by the force of a black explosion beneath their feet. Scalding burns rived their shoulders and thighs, throwing them into an already-injured Davis and Darkdramon. Cody managed to reach Kari and rest a hand on her shoulder, but she grabbed him by the wrist and clasped her other hand against his chest. With a shriek, a beam of black energy punched Cody's chest and sent him flipping, spiraling into Digmon.

The gales of the surrounding explosions whirred around Kari. Her hair – long, crackling with black lightning – billowed like a cape through the coiling smoke. Her lips curled into that grin, eyes glowing black and green in the dark light.

"This is the power I have now..." she said, spreading out her hands. Shooting them in the sky's direction, at least several hundred pillars of black energy harpooned out of the ground and shredded entire barrages of enemies, both Nightmare and Azulongmon. "...This is the power of Kari Kamiya, the girl who radiates light... Queen Kari, who contains so much latent power she alone could access it even as a child... This is me, so watch me burn you all away!"

The Crest of Light illuminated her chest. Black bolts of lightning thundered out of the sky and struck ground, ripping entire canyons through Odaiba and traveling into the ocean itself. Sundering through the wind and water and fire and rain and soil, Kari Kamiya's black beams of energy expanded into black, acid-oozing monoliths that reached the sky, sending millions of bolts of energy screaming to the ground below.

The pink light that permeated her chest darkened, then cracked. Splinters of black light shined through the gentle hues, swallowing them. Black shards of light jutted through her skin, inverting the Crest of Light.

"I will show you..." she growled, black, coiling pedestals of energy that looked like sutures building beneath her feet. "...I will let you know..." She ascended toward the sky, "...The true power I possess, and always have... The power of the light which illuminates, and the glare which obscures... I am not only the Moral Destined of Light..."

Blue thunder shook the heavens above her. The cuts and burns on her face seared with a black light.

"_**I AM KARI KAMIYA, SIN DESTINED OF DARKNESS**_."

(-1020101-)

_TK was eleven-years-old again. Stumbling through a DigiPort, he found himself lying in a heap on the floor. But rest assured, a hand landed on his shoulder and helped pull him from his tangled heap and onto his feet._

"_What were you doing?" Kari asked him with a furrowed brow._

_TK hesitated. He was hoping no one would catch his secret venture into the Digital World. He'd even left Patamon behind, fearing his digimon's safety._

_That would explain why Kari was here. Patamon must have realized what TK did and got her._

_TK glanced to the door of his middle school's computer room, where he saw the silhouette of a hovering, bobbing Patamon outside the window, his ear-wings flapping wildly. TK had no doubt Gatomon was nearby as well, though the two had allowed Kari to go in first. _I'll talk to you later,_ he thought with a glare at the ear-flapping silhouette._

_Unsure, and suddenly feeling insecure, TK rubbed the back of his neck. "I..."_

_When he paused, Kari raised an expectant eyebrow. "You...?"_

_He took a deep, calm breath, then blurted out, "I was looking for virus digimon!"_

"_Uh huh." Kari crossed her arms in front of her chest. "And what were you planning to do with them once you found them? You're not a digimon, TK. You're a human. You don't have a 'Boom Bubble' or a 'Hand of Fate' to protect yourself with."_

"_I don't know..." TK sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. "I just— after Kimeramon..."_

_Kari's expression softened. Pausing for a second, Kari leaned against a desk and motioned for him to sit down next to her. With a voice as soft as her expression, she replied, "What's wrong, TK? It isn't like we haven't faced digimon like that before. I mean, Kimeramon was really strong, but... I've never seen you act this way."_

_TK paused for a minute. He and Kari had been through so much that sometimes he forgot even she had not been a Destined as long as he was. Though it only happened a few years ago, TK's memory of his adventures in the Digital World were already blurring. But one memory that would never grow hazy was the memory of losing Angemon, of watching that final feather flutter through the wind before it, too, would disintegrate._

_Devimon's cruelty had been imprinted in TK's mind for so long that he'd completely forgotten those who were not there to witness it themselves; they knew nothing of it, because TK did not like to speak about it. In fact, he rarely spoke of it to even Patamon, and only then he only brought it up when he was feeling particularly depressed or stressed out._

_It was his worst memory. His lowest point._

"_Kari," he started slowly. "The Emperor used Devimon's arms to help create Kimeramon."_

_Kari's brow furrowed. "Devimon. Wasn't he the first digimon you and the others faced when the Digital World kidnapped you?"_

"_Well, besides the big red bug and a few digimon controlled by dark gears..." TK gave a half-smile. Kari smiled back._

"_So what's so bad about that?" Kari asked as gently as she could manage. "I know it must have brought up memories, but it isn't like we haven't faced other old enemies before."_

"_No, Kari, Devimon's different," he replied, his voice hardening. He stood and turned his back to her, unsure how to continue. When she said nothing, he sighed. "He killed Patamon."_

_He heard a gasp behind him. No one told her. He should've known no one would— they told stories about Devimon, but Angemon's sacrifice was an incredibly loaded topic. It wasn't exactly a tale TK would want told over a bonfire and s'mores._

_When Kari continued her silence, he finally turned around and relented. For the first time in years, TK went through the entire memory, from beginning to end. She listened carefully, her eyes widening or frowning at the appropriate intervals, occasionally gasping or giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze. When he finished, she took in a big sigh and bowed her head._

"_Oh, TK... I had no idea," she finally said. "I'm so sorry."_

"_I've never hated anyone before..." TK's hands grasped at the air, as if trying to hold it. "But if I ever did, it would be Devimon."_

"_That's... understandable," Kari replied, rising from her seat. "But TK, you should know— not every digimon aligned with darkness, or even virus types, are evil."_

_TK snorted. "Just the majority."_

_Kari sighed, but let it go. She rested a hand on his head and removed his hat so she could rub his hair. It was comforting. She then smiled at him and said, "I know this is something you've had to deal with all this time... I'm sorry I wasn't there before, but now I will be. We'll get through this, TK. I promise. You don't have to face this alone. Patamon, Matt, Gabumon, Gatomon, and I will always be here for you._

"_Just don't go off on your own anymore, kay? I know you don't want Patamon to get hurt again, but... we're all in this together. Losing you will hurt us all like losing Patamon hurt you."_

Then it was five years later.

TK fumbled back as he watched Kari ascend.

"This isn't Kari..." he muttered. He could feel oxygen rushing through his lungs. He could feel the blood pumping in his legs. He could feel his heart thrashing against his chest. "This isn't her... _This isn't my friend_...!"

There was a snicker beside him. TK twisted around to see Lucesco, lying flat on his back, staring endlessly up at the sky with a smirk on his face. His arms were spread-eagle and his legs were sprawled out. The cuts and bruises on his face were red-hot and bleeding and pulsating.

The look on Lucesco's face reminded TK all too well of the smirk on Devimon's as Angemon dissolved into data right before his eyes. That look reminded TK of Piemon's as he turned all of TK's friends into keychains, the look the Emperor wore when he imprisoned countless digimon.

TK's teeth clenched.

"_**You**_." TK's fingers dug into the collar of Lucesco's shirt as he dragged the blond man to his knees. "What did you do to Kari!"

"Hahahahah... She was dying, Takaishi..." His eyes fell half-lidded as he continued staring up at the sky, his head leaning to the side, his body limp in TK's grip. He was still smiling. "What else could I do? She sacrificed herself to save me, and I have this thing about returning favors..."

"WHAT DID YOU DO, YOU BASTARD?"

"I fixed her." Lucesco finally looked at TK. "Don't you see? I made her _aaaaaall_ better!"

"You call THIS," TK motioned to the hundreds of digimon splattering the roadside, their corpses dissolving, the people falling, the children crying, the buildings exploding and crashing and screaming as shrapnel struck; he motioned to the collapsing dilapidated Odaiba City, "_**ALL BETTER**_?"

_**CRACK**_

TK's fist landed in Lucesco's nose. Lucesco rolled backwards until his head cracked against the pavement. The blond man-creature cackled, wavering, trying to stand but unable to. He watched as Kari threw her head back in a laugh echoing his own, black electricity unfurling from her palms.

"She looks happy to me," Lucesco snickered.

"YOUR OWN COMRADES ARE DYING," TK snarled, punching him again. Lucesco smacked the pavement. "_MY_ own comrades are dying! How can you laugh at this!"

"They're not _my_ comrades," Lucesco snarled. His grin had finally vanished. _Good_, TK thought with a glare. "I hate these digimon... these people... this world and the Digital World beside it... At one time, I gave up everything to protect them all, and they spat in my face. Just wait, they'll spit in yours, too. Why do you think the Council, those makers of fate, never reveal themselves? Because they know if they do someone, someday, will defy them, and they will lose everything. That is the cycle of power. You only hold it for so long before someone stronger comes along and takes it from you.

"Everyone would be better off dead."

"That isn't your decision to make!" TK howled. "I don't know what you did to her, but bring Kari back!"

"I can't," Lucesco replied. With heavy steps, he walked toward TK and grabbed him by the shirt. "By awakening the Enigma Evolution, you Destined are beginning to fuse with the soul of the Digital World. _All_ Digital Worlds. You're becoming both flesh and data in one body. And while that gives you the strength of both realities, it also gives you the _weaknesses_, as well.

"I've corrupted her data, Takaishi. At one time, the Child of Light could be classified as a vaccine...

"But I have made her into a human virus."

_A human...virus._ TK twisted around to look up at Kari's form. She was infected? Just like when Tai force-digivolved Agumon into SkullGreymon... He wasn't able to stop himself from destroying everything around him; he'd turned into a great virus digimon with amazing, terrifying power. Had something similar happened to Kari?

TK almost laughed. _Can't wait to see Kari's face when I tell her she digivolved,_ he thought with an affectionate grin.

Lucesco's chuckle wiped TK's grin off his face. "How do I stop her?" he asked.

"You can't," Lucesco said. "The forces of darkness aren't necessarily evil. Darkness in itself is a neutral party, but because it so easily conceals and hides, it is a suitable tool for evil to use. Like Motomiya, Inoue, and Hida are able to tap into two separate Eggs, Kari is also the true Destined of Darkness as well. But right now, the corruption is using her power against her.

"That corruption inside Kari is an ancient entity that has been deep inside Kari since the moment she saw Parrotmon and Greymon battling in Highton View Terrace. No, maybe even further back than that... Kari herself is an ancient being—" How was that possible? "—but Kari has no awareness about the things that lie in her soul. That darkness inside of her, however, has been awake for a very long time, waiting, watching. And it knows how to use her powers a whole lot better than she does."

"But it's not really Kari."

"No, Child of Hope, you're wrong." Lucesco sat on the ground and crossed his legs. He frowned up at Kari. "That _is_ Kari. That is every single dark thought she has ever had. Every single sin that has been a whisper in the back of her mind that she never allowed herself to listen to. That is the manifestation of her hate, her pettiness, her sadness. Everything she has never said – everything she has denied, everything she has never allowed herself to believe – is coming to the surface. That is Kari. That is Kari when she relies on her sins. Her pride, her envy, her wrath, her sloth, her greed and gluttony and lust.

"That is the person Kari never allowed herself to be, but who was always a part of her nonetheless."

_We all have evil inside of us..._ TK thought, thinking of his own prejudices against digimon of darkness, of his inability to forgive, of how it took Devimon's death to make him realize how much had changed (_"Devimon is the exception, not the rule..." _If Virus Kari said that, did that mean she meant it too...? But...).

_But it is our duty, our responsibility and even our _privilege, _to combat that evil, to take a path toward being a better person..._ He had to save Kari. He had to show her the path he knew she would want to take.

Kari was not alone. If TK had been corrupted, he was sure he would be just as petty, as would Davis, or Tai, or Sora or Matt or even _Mimi_, the Chosen of Purity. That was their flaw of being living, thinking, breathing creatures of freewill: their ability to sin, their ability to moralize, allowed them two paths to take and one was not as righteous as the other.

All of the Destined were heroes of a Gray Area. But they had to do everything they could not to veer off into the Dark Area.

"One problem, though," Lucesco went on, glancing at TK.

TK craned his neck toward the blond. Lucesco smiled. "Davis and Kari's souls are connected. So if Kari's soul has been corrupted..."

"No," TK said, looking in Davis's direction. "No, you're wrong, it's impossible to corrupt Davis's heart! Instead, we can use that connection to purify Kari!"

"_Purify_ the Child of _Light_?" Lucesco threw his head back in a bellowing laugh that shook his entire body.

"But you said it yourself." TK grinned. "She's also the Child of Darkness. And Davis... Davis is the Child of _Miracles, _even if that DigiEgg disappeared to form the DigiEgg of Kindness, it still stands that Davis has that power inside of him. Crests... DigiEggs... in the end, they're just tools to magnify the power already inside of us. And one of Davis's greatest gifts is the power to do the impossible."

"_**HAND**_ of **_FATE_**."

Lucesco jumped up just in time to avoid Angemon's attack. He flipped through the air and barely landed on his feet. Dusting himself off, he looked back up at TK with narrowed eyes and gave a sloppy salute. "Whatever you say," he replied. "Things have already been set in motion. I never intended for that virus to infect Kari, but it'll spread to its intended target soon enough.

"I look forward to this plague. It's the Pale Horse, y'know."

Lucesco vanished in a flash of blinding light. Smoke exposed a curdled and cracked crater where Lucesco had been standing before, but now he was no where in sight. TK's brow furrowed.

How could Lucesco just disappear like that?

"DAVIS," TK called. _I can't linger on it now,_ he thought, rushing in the boy's direction. _I couldn't save Devimon... Years ago, when I was a little boy, I couldn't save Angemon... but I _**will**_ save Kari._

_I promise you, Kari. This time, I'll be the one there for you!_

(-1021010-)

When Lucesco landed on the rooftop of a two-story house that was half caved-in, he fumbled to find his balance. He was badly wounded. He didn't know how it happened, but he would need some time to regenerate before he could get involved in another battle like that.

That was alright, though. He had accomplished his goal. Now all that remained was opening the rift between dimensions...

"LUCESCO, YOU IDIOT!"

_Ah, shit..._

_**THWACK**_

His face hit the ground with enough force to shatter the plaster. Lifting his head out of the hole in the roof, he groused and rubbed the back of his skull where a massive lump protruded.

"You didn't have to hit me so hard," he grumbled, turning toward the woman who struck him.

Her hair was the shade of red mercury. "Hair of Mars", Kari had described it once... The woman liked that description. It was a constantly shifting shade, always deep and lush, always red, always unsettled and unpredictable like the seas of magma beneath the Earth's crust. Her eyes were as deep as her hair, a royal purple that flashed dangerously as they flickered in Lucesco's direction.

He watched Mara plant her knuckles against her hips as she glared at him. "_I was worried about you_!"

"Yeah, yeah, blah blah blah," Lucesco grunted as he stood.

Mara reached forward and grabbed his side. He thrust his head back in a half-hiss. It stung.

"Watch it!" he growled. Mara raised an eye ridge and poked the wound again. His bottom lip wibbled. "Maraaaa! Quit it!"

"You two are children," came a third voice. Neither of them needed to turn around to know who spoke. They could feel his approach miles away, seething, oozing with a darkness that crackled around his hands and feet and eyes. Invisible, but there, hair-raising.

Lucesco and Mara glanced at him from the corner of their eyes. Any sense of playfulness faded.

"Did you do it?" the third voice asked.

"Not quite," Lucesco replied, searching the man's gaze. "But the result will be the same."

Three bright lights illuminated their faces. A red glow formed the trident symbol of the Prideful Crest across Lucesco's forehead; the green four-pronged emblem of Lust incandescent over Mara's heart; and the purple light of Greed's sign lit up the palms of the third figure's hands.

Lucesco's voice rose above a whisper to a snarl, then to the thunder that incinerated the sky.

"For the Seven Great Demon Lords..."


	22. I&XXII Part 4: A Corroded Soul

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Love The Way You Lie" by Eminem ft. Rihanna and "Love The Way You Lie Part II" by Rihanna ft. Eminem

**Author's Note:** Keep an eye out for Part V on Saturday, it will be having an early release as a thank you to my readers and not only that, but to celebrate the end of the Virus Kari Arc! It's a doozy, and a bit long. Enjoy.

(-'010102000'-)

"A fallen lighthouse is more dangerous than a reef."

-Proverb

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXII**

... Part IV: A Corroded Soul ...

"Kari!" Sora cried as she and Birdramon lunged in her direction. Fire and shadow flickered through the barrage of blackness, but Kari whipped a tsunami of energy toward them. Birdramon and Sora were blown back.

"I don't want to do this..." Matt said, trembling. He gripped his upper-arm to stop himself from shaking. "All this time, I've helped keep you safe! Ever since we were younger, it was part of my responsibility to look after you! Please, don't make us fight you, Kari!"

"If you don't want to fight me, then don't!" Kari replied, motioning her arm in a vertical swipe.

The ground caved beneath Matt's feet as dozens of black hands grabbed him by the ankles. Matt winced and tried to jerk his legs away, but they got tangled in the many gripping, grasping hands. Faces formed in the blackness, faces with no eyes or nose or mouth. Faceless faces, dragging Matt down, down, down.

"MATT!" Cody, Digmon, and Garurumon worked together to dig Matt out of the collapsing trench. The shadows yanked at their arms, but as a team, they managed to pull him out.

"Does this remind you of anything?" Kari muttered with a smirk.

Matt's expression curled in a snarl. Every memory of the Dark Cave that swallowed him and Sora reverberated in his mind all the way to his heart. He didn't give in, though. Instead he barked back at her, "Yes, it reminds me of how much it sucks to turn against your friends! Apparently you want to try it too, huh? Well lemme tell you, cutting yourself off isn't going to solve your problems! Isolating myself from the others – even turning against _Tai,_ turning against _them_ – made me realize how much I needed them, that I wasn't _complete _without them! You'll see that too... because just like you never gave up on me, _we_ will never give up on _you_!"

Kari snarled and carved a path through the shadows, who continued dragging him.

"_Shadows..."_ Sora whispered, half-unconscious beside Birdramon in the smoking remains of the collapsed building they landed in. "_I can control those..."_

Shadows were a part of darkness... a part of Kari. With what little strength Sora still had, she motioned her fingers toward the sky. The shadows pulling down Matt, Cody, Digmon, and Garurumon dissipated, screaming.

"I'm sorry, Kari! DARK ROAR!" Darkdramon cried.

"ELECTRO SHOCKER!" 

"NEEDLE SPRAY!"

"HARPOON TORPEDO!" 

A bright light shot out of Valdurmon's wings and pelted Darkdramon, Kabuterimon, Togemon, and Ikkakumon's attacks, empowering them. They hurdled in the air toward their target. Holding out her hands, they simultaneously halted them in the air seconds before they could reach her and instead deflected them in the opposite direction toward her attackers.

"Stop..." Tai's voice broke. "Stop attacking my little sister..."

He saw a tiny, little girl Kari faint on the soccer field. Their father rushing her to the hospital. Their mother slapping him across the face. That was all his fault. Kari hadn't even cried though, and she never blamed him. In fact, she was the one who felt guilty, as if she'd done something wrong by following her big brother's wishes. Tai remembered Kari crying while Greymon and Parrotmon disappeared in a great flash of white light as their attacks collided and killed them both. That little girl who cried...

That little girl who showed nothing but mercy and compassion to those who surrounded her, even those who would hurt her...

That little girl whose whistle brought him back to reality so many times in the past...

That little girl was several stories high in the sky now, standing on a pedestal made of black energy sutures, her face contorting in a snarl as she blocked blow after blow and blew apart everything that touched her.

"STOP ATTACKING MY LITTLE SISTER!" Tai bellowed, and rushed toward the morphed reflection of the little girl with the whistle.

Examon raised a clawed paw to stop him. "Wait, Tai—!"

Hadn't Tai done the same thing for Gatomon? But that was how it went, when a loved one was in pain. Act now, think later— even if it means death, save them. Even if it might be better that they're slain.

_No!_ Tai's fingers stretched in the air. _A world without Kari is not a world I want to be in! A world without Kari is a far worse world!_

His palms flattened against the dark foundation of her throne.

_**ZAP**_

The force at which he rebounded made him fling through the air and through a nearby half-destroyed Cadillac.

_She doesn't want any visitors, trying to make her pedestal like an electrical fence,_ he thought, looking up at her. He caught her eye. Felt his heart flop.

He actually chuckled. "You think this will stop me, Kari?" he said.

She raised an eyeridge, but remained silent.

_You might not be the little girl who stayed home sick when she should have been in summer camp, you're not that little girl anymore, but you're still my little sister. You will always be my little sister, no matter what mask you wear or what virus runs through your veins or what you say... You're Kari Kamiya, and I am Tai Kamiya,_ Tai continued, stumbling to a stand.

_Nothing will keep me from saving my little sister. Not summer camp, not Myotismon, not the Dark Ocean, not Heaven and never Hell. Nothing. Much less this damn electrical fence._

And his fist plunged through the darkness. It wavered, then regenerated and pushed him back again. He didn't let his feet leave the ground this time.

"I WILL reach you," Tai growled, fingers digging into the darkness. "I will climb up there, Kari—" He could feel electricity tingling in his fingertips, traveling up his arms and burning in his toes. Grimacing, he continued climbing. "And I will _stop you—_

"LISTEN, KARI. BIG BRO DON'T APPROVE DIS CRAP."

He heard a shredding sound beside him. Peering over, he saw Gatomon climbing the pillar. They connected gazes. She gave a non-smiling but encouraging nod. Tai returned it.

As Tai and Gatomon ascended, Kari laughed. "Since when have I _ever_ listened to you?"

"Every time you've gotten hurt!" he replied with a grin. "When I want to play soccer and you don't..." Kari's confident grin twitched. "When I need to go to the Digital World while you're recovering..." Her confident grin faded. "When a certain orange dinosaur digimon wanted to play out in the streets and I just wanted to sleep..." He paused. "...Okay, some of these examples are of you _not _listening. I guess Point 1 goes to you. But I still love you."

"Shut-up," Kari replied.

"It's true that I've led you to some pretty painful places," Tai said, smiling up at his sister. "But it was always your choice to follow me. And even when you don't, you somehow manage... manage better than you would have if you did. But this time, Kari... this time, both you and I know I'm right.

"Stoppit. It'll kill all of us."

"Maybe that's the real point," Kari replied. "Maybe that's what I want."

"Maybe a part of you does... to give up, to give in," he said. "But it isn't like you to quit. You're too stubborn."

"Does it make you feel like a strong boy, protecting a little girl?" Kari asked, cocking her head to the side. "Did that make you feel powerful and mature? Does it still? Do you need to protect someone to feel better about yourself? Doesn't that make you feel codependent...? Like a parasite...? That you feel weak if there's no one weaker than you to protect...? Is that why you beat-up Matt when it's _Sora's _responsibility to stay safe and someone else's fault for ending that safety? You need it to feel superior.

"That's messed-up, brother. But then again." She grinned. Stitches formed in her lips and dangled down, severed. "We're all a little messed-up, aren't we."

A barrage of Andromon and HiAndromon – armies of both Nightmare Soldiers and Azulongmon's Reinforcements – fired off hundreds of missiles at Kari. She bounced them back at their perpetrators with a wave of her hand without even glancing in their direction. Angemon, tears cascading down his cheeks, threw a bright orange attack that struck her in the shoulder. Her flesh bubbled and sizzled before new layers of skin formed over the wound.

"I don't need to protect someone to feel strong," Tai replied. "I'm strong either way!"

Kari laughed. "Yes, because people stand behind you hoping you'll save them. Face it, Tai. Your muscles – no, not even that, your _digimon – _determines how superior you feel compared to someone else. How superior you are compared to _me._"

"No..." Tai frowned, then pointed at her high above his head. "Don't be mean to your big brother! He's not used to it! Be my nice little weirdo sister..." _And stop making sense,_ he wanted to say, but a part of him still vehemently denied what she was saying.

It was a half-truth, something twisted into a manipulative, guilty lie. A part of him wondered if it was true... if he did always need to save someone, not because they needed saving but because it made him feel better about himself. To know he was needed. Was that wrong? Partly, yes. Partly...

Most people wanted to feel needed.

Otherwise they turn into what Kari was now.

Bitter, cruel, jaded. Sadistic.

Kari sighed and glanced up at the sky. "I've always wanted a brother... ever since I was an only child, I wanted you around. But now that I have you, I don't understand what it was that I wanted."

"What are you blathering on about?" Tai said. "You're younger than me! You were never an only child!"

"But I was," Kari replied with a blink. "When I was alive before you... Before I died... Now I'm this girl." She motioned to her own body. Her expression saddened. "I'm prettier than I was in my other life. But I'm not as strong. This is so weak..."

Her gesture expanded to the abolished city surrounding her. Smoking, broken buildings and catapulted streets and a scorched seashore that led to a poisoned ocean. Obliterated docks that sent scattered chunks of wood out to sea, while shelters collapsed under the dead weight of surrounding explosions and corpses.

Carcasses... they littered the city streets.

"I was alone back then," Kari replied, her gaze growing distant. "Always alone..." She closed her eyes and gripped her chest with both hands, cupping them together. "Just as I was when I was younger in this life." Tears spilled down her cheeks. "So lonely... No friends... No family... And then they killed me." Her eyes opened. "They killed me, Tai. Well, not quite, I suppose. I was the one who jumped. But I never would have if they hadn't wanted me to. I just wanted them to love me. That's all anybody wants."

"Kari, what are you...? Stop talking like this!"

"But I don't need anyone now." Her lips split her face in a crackling grin. "Now I've realized I should have killed them all before they could hurt me like they had. Now I'm stronger. I've realized I can't rely on anyone. I can't trust anyone. I can't love anyone, because they will never return that love! No matter what I do, no matter what I accomplish, no matter how strong I get or how many victories I earn, it will never be enough to get them to love me! No matter how little uselessness I have inside me, they will never love me! And so I will show you how I can never love you!"

Kari buckled over. Her palms slammed against the pedestal. Missiles flew all around her and bounced off her body. Her fingernails dug into the sutures and the snakes. Her spine protruded out of her back. Her eyes widened, black pupils at the center.

_**SNAAAAAAP**_

The thin layers of flesh protecting her back smashed open. Splatters of blood and clumps of cartilage hit the ground below.

A hand emerged from the crack in Kari's back. Then a head followed, hair as brown as Kari's, with eyes just as wide and a grin as toothy and stitched. Kari's elbows and knees popped. With a crack, their joints broke inward. As the second body emerged out of Kari's back, Tai realized the figure was _another_ Kari, her torso and head swelling and clawing at the air and anchoring itself to Kari's shoulders.

Then, shrugging off several gooey bits of flesh and blood, the half-Kari rose out of full-Kari's back.

_It's almost like..._ Tai bit down on his tongue. _It's like a human Cerberus or something. Or a Cerberus-Centaur?_

"Kari..." Gatomon frowned. It wasn't long ago that she dreamed about the black-haired woman emerging from her chest, that decayed, clawed hand snatching off Gatomon's face...

Both Kari creatures threw their heads back in a cackle, then spoke in unison. "DO YOU STILL LOVE ME, BIG BROTHER? AM I STILL THE LITTLE SISTER YOU GREW UP WITH?"

A bulge formed on each shoulder of the lower-Kari as the two continued bellowing and laughing. With a pop, the bulges – the pustules – the boils and blisters – oozed into two more faces with long jaws. Jagged sabers at least several feet long and glowing black eyes gleamed against the vortex light swiveling above it, and when Tai squinted, he realized... both of those fanged, glowing-eyed faces were two more Kari heads with elongated jowls lashing out of Kari's shoulders, snapping, biting.

Tai was surprised to find himself shaking.

How long had it been?

How long since he'd last found an enemy who actually left him feeling emotionally, spiritually dazed and shaken up?

Tai glanced at Gatomon. She, too, was trembling.

Kari cackled.

Tai grinned.

"Of course I still love you... But you already knew that." Tai's fingers formed mini-trenches in the deep darkness, climbing higher, higher. "That's the thing about love, Kari. It's unconditional. Doesn't matter if the other person loves you back, just as long as you love them, it doesn't matter what they do or what they say or what they look like. Doesn't mean you have to give up everything you are to make them happy and it certainly doesn't mean you have to lie down and take whatever they throw at you, but it does certainly mean that you will love them no matter how badly they screw up, no matter how badly they hurt you. Even if you have to walk away from them forever, you still love them."

"We love you..." Gatomon said, clawing upward, ascending. "And that will never change!"

"You love us..." Tai continued for her. "And that, too, will never change!"

"Shut-up!" Kari hissed, swiping her hand. A harpoon jutted out of the dark pedestal and sliced Tai's shoulder. Tai nearly lost his grip, but he grit his teeth and dug his fingers in further. Grappling with the wall, he surged upward, yanking his shoulder out of the spike.

"Stop!" Kari howled. Three of the spikes struck Gatomon, but the cat digimon continued upward, half-wincing, half-glaring. "Get away!"

"No..." both Tai and Gatomon said. "We won't leave you."

"Don't you see?" Kari said, clapping her hands together just like her clenched teeth.

_**CRRRRACK**_. Another spike lanced straight through Tai's ribcage. He threw his head back in a scream as he lost his grip. His legs dangling, the spike kept him from falling, falling, falling, his hands limp, his head rolled back.

He stared up at the dark sky.

"You can't save me," Kari said. "Not anymore."

"No..." Tai whispered, one trembling hand reaching up and clutching the lance. His eyes hazily fled back to his sister's distorted image. "You're wrong..."

"We will never stop trying," Gatomon continued for him. "LIGHTNING PAW." She shattered the spike in Tai's chest and caught him by the wrist before he could fall.

He hung like that, his eyes half-lidded. He wasn't sure how much strength he had left... but in his head, he saw his sister's smile, warm and welcoming, so wide that she had to close her eyes just so her face could hold all of it. Her head was cocked to the side. In his ears, there were bells ringing; the bells swelled to a whistling sound; it reminded him of something from his past.

That something gave him the strength to plunge his hand back into the pedestal and re-begin his climb.

"Kari must have felt so alone when she let her dark emotions grip her..." Tai whispered, his voice shaking as hard as his hands. "But she's not alone. Not anymore."

"None of us will leave her alone!" both him and Gatomon cried out at the same time. Gatomon thought about how alone she felt, wandering the desert by herself, searching for Kari. Only Wizardmon accompanied her, and one person alone was enough to bring a little happiness to her heart... what if Gatomon had no one, like Kari? Where would she have ended up? Even worse off? The whistling was in her ears, too.

Behind them, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Joe, Mimi, Cody, and Ken climbed the pedestal of darkness toward Kari. Their partners followed. Together, the Destined climbed, and climbed, and reached out for her.

_For Kari,_ they thought.

They wouldn't leave Kari alone. Never again.

(-'1020101'-)

_Kari..._

Davis surged toward the pedestal to join the others. _I'm coming!_ he thought. _Oh God, please..._

_I know when we were little, I was a total dork around you. Still am. Back then, I was a puppy dog. But now... Now I know you. I've fought side-by-side with you in battles that could have killed us. I've protected you and I've been saved by you. I know your strengths. I know your weaknesses. I know your smiles, when one is genuine or fake or sarcastic or silly. I know your pet peeves. I know what little things you enjoy._

_I love you._

_I love you, Kari Kamiya!_

Just then, he felt his insides lurch. He fell forward, foot lodged into the debris. Coughing, hacking, Davis bit back a snarl and tried to stand back up. His innards were threatening to fall out of the cut that ran from his sternum to his navel, where Darkdramon's armor was cracked by Machinedramon— by Millenniummon.

What a power, to travel through time... If he could, Davis would go back to the time when they were small... even if he couldn't be with Kari, at least she would be happy. Alive. Functional.

Smiling.

_I love you._

Blood dribbling down his lips, Davis hefted one foot up and knelt. The others were climbing the pillar, or soaring above. He watched them from below, bent on one knee. His eyes shot to Kari. The multiple heads that tore from her body. The gnashing, snarling fangs that snapped at the air surrounding her, connected to her shoulders. The boils and blisters that ran down her body. The pain in her laughter.

_I love you._

Quivering, Davis stood and stumbled forward.

_I love you!_

His fingers burrowed into the pillar. He began his ascent.

Darkness flickered across his vision. Electricity traveled through his body.

_I LOVE YOU!_

Muscles twinging uncontrollably, Davis roared. But even with all his furor, all his desire, his strength gave out— watching Kari's face, filled with hate, Davis fell, falling farther and farther from her. And it was like they were 11-years-old again, when try as he might, he would always fail to be the man she needed.

_**THUMP**_

He hit the ground.

Tears mixed with the blood smudging his face.

_I'm sorry..._ he whispered, clenching his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. _I'm so sorry, Kari!_

"Davis," said a voice beside him. Someone poked him. "Yo, _Davis_."

Pain shuddered through his body.

"Don't... Takaishi..." Davis muttered as TK grabbed him by the shoulder. Davis stifled a cough, blood oozing between his lips as he held the cut in his chest. Darkdramon could still fight with such a wound, but Davis was _human_. Even with the Enigma Evolution... his body was failing him.

_Kari..._ Davis inwardly muttered, convulsing. _Kari, please don't think you're alone! That is something I won't stand for... letting anyone feel like they don't have anyone! Because they will always have me! YOU will always have me!_

TK bit back a growl. "We don't have time to wait for you!"

"Dude, it's not like I can help _my innards falling out,_" he snapped back.

Yellow light glowed around TK. He held up his hand to Davis's chest. With a humming sound, Davis's blood was vacuumed back into his wound. For a second, the boy stood motionless, then looked back up at TK. TK was staring hard into his eyes.

Without TK saying a thing, Davis knew exactly what he was thinking... maybe Davis could purify Kari. Maybe he could be the vaccine to her virus. If their souls were connected, and it was Kari's soul who was forcefully corrupted, then who was to say Davis couldn't reverse the damage? After all, he held a part of Kari within his core.

"What if I'm lost, too?" he said, looking down at his hands. "If even Kari couldn't fight that thing... TT, I don't think I can do this... I know I'm Davis Motomiya, but... I..."

He covered his eyes. He could never reach Kari when she needed him most. He was always just a few minutes too late, even to this day he was always too late. He didn't know why he even tried! All he could do was fail, fail, and _fail._

_Confidence issues just like his sister,_ TK thought with a slight grin. _No wonder he's always so loud about how great he is. The only person he's trying to convince is himself._

"Unfortunately," TK began, "Kari didn't have us to fight beside her. That's why you'll win, Davis," he said, "Because you have me and Angemon, and Darkdramon, and Tai and Gatomon and Examon, all of them standing beside you. You have the others, too. Right, Yolei?"

Davis felt Yolei's hand clasp his shoulder. "That's right."

"Where did you come from?" Davis asked with an irritable tone.

Yolei snickered. "Your mother's room."

Davis swatted at the air where she'd been standing a second beforehand. Grumbling, he turned back to TK, who was still grinning determinedly at him. The two boys stared for a while, neither of them moving or speaking. Then Davis clasped TK's hand in his own and nodded, their grips tight enough that their knuckles turned white.

"Together," Davis said. "All of us.

"That virus is going to be one sorry motherfucker."


	23. I&XXIII Part 5: Cure

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Cosmic Love" by Florence and the Machine

(-'010102000'-)

"Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals."

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXIII**

... Part V: Cure ...

Kari was drowning in the dark abyss of her thoughts. Endlessly floating, she wondered what happened to her head... the Queen in Yellow swallowed it, hadn't she? Gobbled it up?

Yet, she could see in the darkness. She opened her eyes and felt along her neck where she soon found a chin. _I have my head back,_ she thought, feeling along her cheeks. After a second, she realized her head was not where it was supposed to be, however— it was in her hands, not on her body. She knew such a realization should have brought some shred of joy or relief – that at least her head wasn't eaten up – but it didn't.

She felt nothing. Not even horror or repulsion or rage.

_I'm dead, _Kari thought, her fingers grazing her cheekbone, her expressionless face turning in the direction of the ocean's surface. _There's no point in fighting it. And even if I did... what good would come of it? I can't contact the World of Light..._

_I won't be able to help the others save the worlds..._

_I'm useless..._

She held her dismembered head in her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. _I miss them, though,_ she whispered only to herself, hoping no one could hear her. _I miss them already so much._

"Why do you miss us?" said a voice beside her.

Kari blinked. Davis had appeared in the ocean beside her.

He smiled. "We're right beside you, idiot." He offered his hand. "That'll never change. You realize that, right?"

"Davis..." She reached out to take his hand, but she hesitated. "I can never do anything right, Davis. What good would come of me going back? I couldn't even help AngeWomon kill Myotismon right. He rose again... and again and again and again... Her arrow couldn't even help WarGreymon defeat VenomMyotismon permanently. And that's really all I could do anyway, was help to power up someone else's digimon. I'm never the powerful one. I'm just the one used for power."

She looked down at her hands. "Is that why everyone likes me now? Because I can give them something? I have something to offer? If I had nothing, would they all leave me again?" Those hands twisted in her hair. "I'm no good..."

"That's a lie," Davis replied.

She looked up. There was a bouquet of aster flowers in his hand. He smiled. "Open your eyes, Kamiya."

"It's too late." The dark hands gripped her in the dark water. Davis stumbled backwards as fingers laced through Kari's shoulders. Behind her, yellow gleaming eyes illuminated the murky tides. He could see sutures lining a woman's mouth and running along her jaw, all the way to her ear. Those eyes... almond-shaped, narrowed; he knew he'd seen them before, but he couldn't place it. It was as if the memory had been stolen from him.

However, whoever had those eyes before had never given him chills.

This woman...

Torn stitches dangled over the woman's lips. She was grinning through her fangs.

"I'm gone, Davis," Kari replied, still clutching her dismembered head. "All I am is a tool... an instrument of destruction and pain... Be it for my brother and Matt, or for the enemy... or the Numemon, or Gennai... all I am is the catalyst to continued war. My greatest dream was peace, but all I can do is wreak havoc. That is the point of my existence. So maybe it is best that my existence ceases."

Just then, a force unfolded from the figure clinging to Kari. Davis flew through the water and smacked against a choral reef. It tore into his shoulder, tainting the gray water red with his blood. He bit back a grimace and looked back up at the two figures.

"You break so easily," Kari said. The figure behind her bit into her frayed neck. Its fangs sank in deep then wrenched back, gnawing on a piece of flesh. Kari's face in her hands hadn't even flinched. She had disconnected. "This is the cocky Motomiya I knew in life? I'm disappointed.

"You've always been like me. But then again, all of us Destined have shared loneliness. You can't escape it. Maybe for a time you can pretend you're not alone, but in the end you'll realize you always have been and it never changed.

"You'll see, Davis Motomiya. You're inside my soul now. We're entwined, the part of your soul the Soul Sucker exchanged with mine is calling back to me... It'll never reach me, but it can change you.

"It can make you see..." —she snickered— "..._the light_."

Immediately, a sharp pang traveled up Davis's ribcage and permeated in the core of his chest, where it multiplied tenfold. Soon it felt as if little knives were cutting at him from the inside out, carving a hole inside his soul.

When Davis was little, no one wanted to be his partner for soccer practice. That didn't change until he practiced and got good at soccer. Then all of a sudden everyone wanted him as a partner. They didn't want him until they could take something from him.

"That's it," Kari whispered, closing her eyes and smiling. "Now you realize the truth of human nature."

But what if he lost his talent? What if he lost Veemon and could no longer perform his duties as Destined, would the other Destined leave him as well? Never contact him, now that they could no longer rely on his strength? ...Were they only friends with him because of Veemon?

No, he wanted to say. They'd never do that. But deep down, in his own darkness, the writhing tentacles that clawed at his heart, he could feel a stirring. It dropped to his stomach. He felt sick.

"No!" he finally said, flinging at the figure behind Kari. He swung his fist. It dodged to the right, taking Kari along with it. The two moved as one, Kari remaining limp and lifeless in its arms despite her words and eyes that followed his movements.

Bubbles foamed around Davis's fist as his knuckles connected with the creature's jaw. It backflipped then caught its momentum and leaped back at him, using a sand bank as leverage. _**SNAP**_. Knuckles plowed through the wound in his shoulder. He held back a screech and shot black flaming bullets through the water. The water suffocated the flame.

The water around Davis rippled. He looked up to see the Sun gleaming above the surface of the water, sparkling white. Then the sand covering the ocean floor ripped open in a black toothy chasm that revealed miles and miles of pure, relentless shadow.

He saw eyes blinking at him in the darkness.

Then tubercles, rubbery and breathless blue, jolted out of the darkness and wrapped around his ankles, dragging him into the darkness. He watched Kari stare down at him with emotionless eyes, and the figure grinned behind her.

"I told you," Kari repeated as the darkness took hold. "You can't escape the truth. Down to your core, you are useless. You could never save me, even when we were small, what makes you think that'll change now? Even when you are not useless, you still mean nothing to the people around you. You still mean nothing to _me._ You are still alone. Always alone."

"Kari, help me!" Davis begged, wrestling with the tentacles.

"She doesn't want to help you," came a voice from the blackness. It was deep. Vibrations traveled through the water and rumbled through Davis's legs where the tentacles gripped him. Davis looked pleadingly into Kari's eyes, but when he saw nothing but cold hostility, he felt his strength flee.

Looking into the dark depths beneath him, he could see a shape hovering toward the bottom. It was massive, taking up all of the chasm floor, leaving only space toward the top for his red-eyed demons. Their master leered at Davis, his entrancing red gaze holding Davis captive. Breathless blue tentacles kept Davis immobile.

"Don't you see?" the deep-voiced, tentacled creature asked. "With you gone, she can be free. You're her keeper. Her suppressor. Her _landlord. _You own her, don't you see? She's 'your girl'. She isn't a human being with feelings that can be crushed with a single word, but a thing for you to show off. That's all you want. She's looking for more. She's demanding more than you can give her, Davis Motomiya."

Deeper and deeper, Davis sank, limp, watching Kari's face fade in the darkness.

The red-glowing eyes with their demonic bodies made of blackness surrounded him. He could not see their shapes in the darkness, but he could feel them, their rubbery, tentacled hands clasping him.

In his ear, the voice whispered, "Don't you think you've hurt her enough? You know TK loves her more than you do. And TK would treat her better. His heart isn't filled with war like yours, but instead hope. She said it herself, you will never be TK. She can never rely on you like she can rely on him. Kari does not need to burn by your fire and conflict, she needs stability. And _warmth, _butnot blisters_._ Besides, Davis..."

The voice purred. A dozen high-pitched cackles joined the rumble in the dark.

"Heh heh. We both know the chase is better than the catch. You've got her, now leave her. Make her feel like you did when you were 11. She had you. She _had you_. But she _rejected you._ And what's worse, _pranked _you, made _fun_ of you, flirted with TK to get to you! She didn't want you. Not until you let go. Now make her want something she can't have.

"Show her you're just as disgusting of a human being as she is."

In the darkness, Davis's eyes glowed red like the demons in the black.

(-'1020101012'-)

"Gack!" Davis buckled over and grabbed his shoulder where a new tear spilled blood over the gravel.

"Hold on, Davis!" TK encouraged, bolstering him to his feet. "We can't give up... Not like this!"

"It's winning," Davis snarled, glaring up at the virus form of Kari. "The thing isn't letting go of her. And what's worse... it's grabbing hold of _me_, TC. I'm falling apart..." Davis stared at his trembling hands. He bit back tears. "_I can't keep it up._ I'm going to fail her... again."

_No,_ TK thought, glancing back up at Kari's disfigured body. Her multiple heads and limbs and torsos. Her grin that was filled with so much hatred and pain. Kari's fingers dug into the concrete of a nearby collapsed structure and threw it several meters through the air. Part of the building broke away, but what didn't had flung right into several nearby digimon.

Virus Kari was pelted by bullets and missiles. She flipped through the air and guarded another flow of attacks. Throttling the air, she upper-cut a Megadramon in the jaw then flopped a Monzaemon on his back. Thrusting her foot up, she broke the jaw off a ToyAgumon then punched Tyrannomon into Nohemon.

"QUEEN KARI!" came the cries of a horde of Numemon. They flooded the streets, rushing in her direction. Virus Kari took two seconds to stare at the group of green digimon, then clapped her hands together. Immediately, every single one of them combusted into an inferno of green-colored fire that incinerated the sky.

Kari wouldn't want this... This was the last thing she wanted...

"TK..."

TK felt Davis's grip tighten on his shoulder as Davis's feet fumbled. The goggle boy bowed his head.

"_TK_..."

"What's wrong, Davis? You know, besides your guts falling out and your bleeding shoulder and your soul corruption..." TK dabbled on, then shook his head. "You never get my name right unless it's _super_ serious."

"Hahahahah..." TK watched a rivulet of blood curl down Davis's chin from the corner of his lips. Davis rolled his head back. "All these years... I was so jealous of you... You would think that jealousy would lessen in time, but instead it's gotten worse... Sometimes it eats me up inside." His eyes flashed red. He gripped TK's arm hard enough to cut off his blood flow. "Sometimes I wish I never met you."

TK swallowed hard. "Davis, don't let it corrupt you, too. I can't... I can't handle this by myself. I can't lose you too."

"It's too late, Takaishi, I can't stop it." TK watched as Davis's brown eyes flashed black. "I don't want to. There's a darkness deep inside me, too. And it wants out."

"No, you can't let it!" TK barked, shaking him. "Don't let us down now! You _coward_! You _liar_!"

"Call me what you want... up there, on your pedestal..." Davis's voice lowered an octave. "Looking down on others... what kind of Destined are you? I can see the darkness in your soul, too, Takaishi. It's blacker than my own."

"Blah, blah, blah, I'm virusist, I get it. Can we move on now!" TK jerked his arm away from Davis. "I'm not the enemy. The thing corrupting Kari is. Fight this, Motomiya."

With a snap, Davis's fist cracked against TK's chin. TK went spluttering back. "What was that for?"

"You look down on me as if you know me..." Davis snarled, his fingers extending into black ropes that turned into tongs of flame. The light illuminated his face. "You have no idea what I've been through, what's going through my mind when I do what I do. What you would be like if you had been in my situation. How could you know? You were close with your mother. You have a loving sibling who would do anything for you. The Destined, especially Tai, would jump through hoops for you if you asked. They love you and protect you no matter what. You've never had to earn it, to _question _it, it's always been yours. You've never been without friends. You and Kari have always had a bond that no one else can understand! I can't stand you, TK! And by the way, I've always known your name, but I just wanted to annoy you!"

"I've realized that last part by now..." TK grumbled. "Davis, you can't let it manipulate you. I won't be goaded into a fight!"

Davis flicked the flame in TK's direction. TK ducked, barely dodging it, and motioned to pin Davis to the ground. He managed to grab the Motomiya by his shoulders; they both smacked the ground hard, wrestling. Fangs protruded from Davis's lips as he snarled at TK.

Davis's entire body shook as he belted, "It's all easy for you! You're smart! Talented! Not to mention kind... good-natured and good-hearted... always there for anyone who needs a shoulder... You have an air about you that makes you easy to talk to. Like everything will be okay. Not bad-looking either, the girls go nuts for ya!"

"And apparently not just the girls," TK grunted pointedly.

Davis chuckled. "Ha, it's no wonder you were picked to go to the Digital World... You're wonder boy! Everyone rushes to side with you, protect you! But I have to work for it! I have to work for everything I have, Takaishi! Everyday, I have to wonder whether or not my friends really like me or if they're just pretending to for the sake of the Digital World! And of course, when I really think about it, I know... I know they really do care about me, they really do love me. But people like me... people like Kari... we never really let go of that rot in our hearts. We can get as many friends as we want, we can change our lives around and gather a following even, but there will NEVER be a day when we don't question other people's motives! There will NEVER be a person I trust fully, completely, no matter how much I joke or fool around or act stupid!

"Yeah, I envy you! Because you are everything I want to be!"

"Davis, that's—"

"And a part of you envies me," Davis continued, smirking. "Because no matter how much better than me you are, than you _know_ you are, she still chose me. One minute, you're the guy she brings all her problems to. The next, her soul gets joined with someone else's. You find out you're not the only one she can connect with. Can't beat that, can you? No matter how much you love her. No matter how many times you try to help her. No matter how many memories you have together. She's _mine._ That's one thing – that's one _person_ – you can never have.

"I bet that really eats you up inside."

"Okay," TK took a deep breath as he struggled to keep Davis pinned. "Yeah." He sighed. "I'm provoked. It's GO TIME, MOTOMIYA."

_**CRUNCH**_. His fist plowed into Davis's nose, knocking the boy over. Davis stumbled, then threw his head back in a laugh.

"You don't like being told you have it easy... you don't like me looking down on you for that..." Davis snickered. "How does it feel? The truth hurts, doesn't it."

_**CRUNCH**_

"Yeah maybe it would," TK huffed, panting, pulling back his elbow for another punch, "IF it were true!"

"You heard the man, TK!" Davis continued laughing and laughing, even as a steady stream of blood flowed from his nostril and dribbled down his chin. "This is how I really feel, deep down... the things I won't admit to you because I'm too much of a coward!"

"Please, Davis Motomiya has _never_ been a coward, and here I am, defending his honor," TK snapped. _**CRUNCH**_. "He was willing to sacrifice his life to Deltamon and the Emperor in order to save us." **_CRUNCH_**. "He would drop anything at the drop of a hat to help out a friend, even if all he wanted to do was play a bit of soccer." _**CRUNCH. **_"He went against his own instincts and trusted not only Ken, the former Digimon Emperor, but also Willis, who had acted nothing but suspicious."

_**CRUNCH. **_

"He pretended to be me for a delirious Kari to make her smile one last time. He was willing to hear the woman he loved more than anyone admit how much she loved someone else, just so she could smile."

_**CRUNCH.**_

"Even when he's wrong, even when he _knows _he's wrong, he still tells people what he feels, and never lies. Never bottles it. He wears his emotions on his sleeve."

_**CRUNCH.**_

"He's honest, even when he has to say something I don't want to hear, and he's a good friend. He gives more than he gets. Even when everyone puts him down, he never retaliates. Sure, he pouts a bit, but it doesn't go further."

_**CRUNCH.**_

"Even when he's scared out of his mind, he still fights. And fights like hell. He never lets his fear stop him or weaken him."

_**CRUNCH.**_

"You? A coward? Heh, you're not the only one who's had jealousy issues. I've always been jealous of you! Of how easy it is for you to forgive, to even forget! Sometimes... Sometimes I think..." His fist trembled an inch from Davis's laughing face. "Sometimes I think I hate you. And then I bury that feeling, so no one will realize what a piece of work I can be.

"And yeah, it eats me up inside. That Kari loves you."

_**CRUNCH.**_ This time, TK's knuckles slammed into the ground beside Davis's head just an inch away. The concrete cracked. But TK couldn't hit him even one more time.

The red light in Davis's eyes flickered. His eyebrows wrinkled. Then the red light blared, stronger than before, and Davis laughed.

"What? TK? With FLAWS? WHAT AN EPIPHANY." Davis waved his arms in the air before TK could club him. Davis threw his head back in a cackle and lunged at TK, bulldozing into his waist and knocking him onto his back. "Oh, blah! How anticlimactic, simply _admitting _how jealous of me you are... You should punish me. Hit me. Kill me even. She's my trophy!"

TK grabbed him by the shoulder and tossed him off his waist, then smacked him across the face. "She's not your trophy."

Davis blinked, but TK continued glaring; his face was growing redder. Angrier. Davis shrugged. "Whatever. At least miracles granted me this one thing before you. And I fought like hell for this wish to come true, unlike Wonder Brat."

TK was starting to regret not punching Davis that last time. "I never had things easy. Davis, you have no idea how many times I've wished I could be more like you. You're brave, and you speak your mind even when you know your opinion won't be popular. You never hesitate. You forge ahead and ask questions even when you're scared shitless of the answer. Yeah you have insecurities but they've never stopped you from doing the right thing!" TK could feel something warm in his chest. The warmth stirred and prickled his throat.

His voice grew hoarse as he continued, "I bet that demon inside you is whispering all your insecurities. Making you feel guilty for every flaw, every wrong thing you have ever said or done or had done to you. Lucesco said it's what you really feel, this virus, that it really is you— your darkest, most evil you— but... what makes you who you are, Davis, is the fact that you fight those flaws. You grow from them. Even when those feelings come up again, or threaten to make you into a bad person, you fight them."

"TK..." Davis's eyes flashed. Then they returned red and he pinned TK to the ground, bearing his teeth. "Shut-up! This is one thing you won't get that easy! You won't change me! _I won't let you!"_

TK's voice grew hoarse as he continued, "Easy? _Easy?_ The 'one thing'? My parents got a divorce, Davis! I never even got to know my father! I barely even realized he existed until I went to the Digital World, and even after that point I still never got to know him! To this day, we hardly ever talk... Just a few quick hellos and goodbyes when I visit Matt. A few empty conversations that lead nowhere, something to pass the time. Nothing real. Nothing substantial. Nothing like I envisioned growing up, wondering what my father was like and if he ever regretted giving me up."

"But does your mommy congratulate you for doing well in school? Maybe give you a pat on the back or treat you to your favorite restaurant?" Davis grit his teeth. "Do you have to throw a stinkbomb in the principal's office just to get her to glance at you?"

TK guffawed.

"My father didn't want me, you asshat!" TK's voice choked and broke as he said it. "He didn't _want me_."

Davis's cool expression faltered.

"You got to live with your sister... see her and talk to her... _grow up with her._ I would've given anything to have that with Matt," he continued, shaking Davis, his grip weakening. "You're _always happy!_ And when you're not... you can admit it. You never hold back your emotions if you can help it. Angry, sad, frustrated, hurt, happy, ecstatic, affectionate— you can show all of those no problem, but I have to constantly worry about how my actions affect other people because I grew up thinking my father didn't want me! That it was something _I did _to make him choose Matt over me!

"Matt internalized it differently. He suppressed his feelings too. I never felt the need to lash out at anyone because of it, or isolate myself from others like he did. But I still... I still understand what it's like to always question other people. Because parents are supposed to love you. They're supposed to want you. They're supposed to be there for you no matter what! They're supposed to _fight for you!_ So where was my dad? Why didn't he fight to keep me too?

"Your parents were never around... I'm sorry for that, that really sucks. But don't you DARE come at me accusing me that I don't understand it!"

"Ohhhh, how saaaaad!" Davis laughed, clapping his hands together. "What a great monologue. Encore, encore!"

_**CRUNCH**_

"OW." Davis held his nose. "What'd ya do that for?"

"Be serious for once in your Goddamn life, Davis!" TK bellowed.

"I am serious," Davis said, his smirk dying instantly. Two seconds later, he snorted into laughter again. "Okay, okay," he sighed, waving his hands. "I'm serious now." He stared blankly at TK. "This is me being... _**serious.**_"

"Dammit." TK ran his fingers through his hair. "What do you want me to do, Davis? What do you want me to say? Sorry that I had a good mother? Sorry I got close to Kari, who was the only person I knew at school when I first moved here? Sorry Tai sees me like a little brother? I can't apologize for that. I'm grateful. They have affected my life and touched it in more ways than I can say. So tell me, what can I do?"

"Hit me," Davis said, his flashing between brown and black. He clutched his arm. "Hit me, TK."

"I don't want to hit you."

"Hit me!" Davis grabbed TK by the shoulders. "Can't you see I'm a terrible person? These are my inner-most thoughts! They're not about being lonely! They're not about feeling insecure! They're about how much I wish I was like everyone else. They're about how much I hate you. They're about how much I hate Kari."

"You don't hate Kari. You don't hate me either."

"I do," Davis snarled, eyes turning black. "I don't mean anything to her! She only loves me because of the Jackal's experiment! But that's okay... I can just use her up, make her wish she never said yes. Then maybe she'll feel like I have these past years. And best of all, all you can do is watch!"

"I've already said it!" TK wrenched his arms from Davis and instead shook him, hard. "_She's not your trophy!_"

"Yes she is!" Davis's voice broke. Through the blackness in his eyes and his clenched teeth, tears broke the brim of his eyes. _"She's an object to me..."_ He bowed his head, choking back sobs. "Hit me... Hit me... please, TK, just end it. I call her mine."

"And she calls you hers," TK replied. His grip softened on Davis. He pulled back slightly. His expression curled, as though something new occurred to him. "Maybe... you and I are a bit more alike than we thought."

"Huh?" Davis looked up at him through the tears.

TK released him. "You suppress certain feelings too. Like guilt."

"Yes! So please, just stop me before I hurt you or anyone else! Kill me!"

"I won't kill you." Instead, TK embraced him. "She isn't an object to you, Davis. Maybe when we were younger... when you didn't understand the weight of what you felt... Maybe then, she was something to be won over. But before me, there wasn't anyone to win her over— she was your best friend, and you thought you were hers before I came along. Then you realized her world belonged to more than just you. And it confused you. But you aren't that same kid, Davis. You don't feel the same way. You've grown from that.

"Maybe back then, she was yours to be claimed. But now it's a joke. A fond, silly, immature memory. You still feel jealous, or hurt, but that isn't because she's an object... it's because you don't want to lose her in your life, Davis. At least you don't want to lose her as your girlfriend. But if she needs someone else, you've grown to the point where you are willing to let her go. And do anything to make sure she's happy.

"So _snap__out__of__it_!" TK pulled back. "She needs you. She needs _you._ Now more than ever!"

Davis clutched his chest. "Kari..."

"Fight it!" TK pushed. "Always going on about how we can rely on you...

"...How you're so strong...

"You've lived up to the hype so far, always coming through in a pinch, so don't let us down now!

"Don't let _Kari_ down now!

"All this time, no one believed in you, and so you mistakenly believed the only one you could rely on to believe in yourself _was _you. But we all believe in you now. You don't have to cry anymore, Davis. You don't have to face anything alone either, we're all in this together! It's not your _individual_ strength that matters, but all of us combined!

"_You _are not Destined, _WE_ are Destined!

"You may be big-headed and cocky and a bit of a prideful idiot, but you were never a liar, so don't lie now!

"Stand up, Motomiya!"

Davis, still trembling, followed TK's order.

"You stand up and you stop the darkness!" he urged.

"You're right..." Davis whispered, still clutching his chest. "I almost forgot... who I am... and those who I am fighting for... Thank you for reminding me."

He looked up at Kari. At Darkdramon. At Tai and Cody and Ken and Matt. At Gatomon and Sora and Izzy and Mimi and Joe and all their partners. He thought about Jun, about his parents. He thought about his college fund— he thought about the cooking school he wanted to attend two years from now, after graduating high school.

Through the blood and anger and the wavering strength in his heart, Davis smiled.

"I am Davis Motomiya, the Destined of Courage and Friendship," Davis reminded himself, his voice strengthening. In his heart, and maybe Kari's soul, he felt a kindling light up in the darkness. "I am a brother... my sister's name is..."

"You know her name. Remember! Never forget who you are!" TK encouraged. "Say it," TK said, "Say her name."

The flickering embers flared. It burned into an inferno that filled his whole being.

"Jun," Davis said, looking up at Kari.

"That's right," TK said. "And I promised her... I would stay safe for your sake. In her heart, she would want me to keep you safe, too."

Davis's gaze hardened. He steeled himself for this moment, remembering all the things and people who made him the person he was. "I am a son. I am a friend. I am a best friend. I am a boyfriend. I am a student and a peer. I have a digimon partner. I love soccer and food. I save the world.

"And I give hell to anyone who endangers any of those Motomiya Requisites!"

_I'm... not sure he used that word right,_ TK thought, then smirked. _But I don't care._

"BRING IT ON!" Davis shouted, throwing his arms outward like wings. Black data surged around him.

One hand grabbed TK's shoulder. The other grabbed Yolei's knee. With a guttural scream, the black energy crackled like lightning and flew in the direction of the others. Cutting through the pillar made of darkness, it linked around Tai, Gatomon, Matt, Sora, and all the others.

The surge connected them as one.

"_**WE ARE THE MOTHERFUCKING DESTINED!**_"

(-'101201010'-)

Inside Kari's soul, the darkness swallowed Davis whole.

The torrential fire which filled him had pushed the deep creatures away from him, lighting up the darkness within and keeping the ominous Voice at bay.

He floated endlessly within the depths, staring up at the ocean where he had been just moments before. Kari floated into the darkness with him from above, but the stitch-lipped woman wasn't with her. She was still holding her dismembered head in her hands.

Davis and Kari stared silently at each other.

"You were alone," he admitted.

Kari smiled. "At least you're honest."

"But you're not alone anymore," he said, offering his hand. "Put your head back on, Kari. You've got a pair of good shoulders, so use 'em. You know you're never alone. Your mistakes and weaknesses aren't just your own, they're the entire Destined team's. You share our weaknesses just as we share yours. And just as you share our weaknesses and we share yours, you also share our strength. And we share yours.

"Useless? You call yourself useless? You think no one loves you, that we would leave you if we had nothing to gain from you? Open your eyes, Kari."

The aster flowers manifested in his hand.

"We've already gone through this," Kari said. "Between you and Tai and Gatomon... it's no use."

"SHUT-UP ALREADY!" Yolei bellowed.

_**SMACK**_

Kari's eyes widened.

Yolei was floating in the darkness beside her now, just like Davis. Yolei cracked her knuckles. "Does that bring back any memories, Kamiya?"

Kari touched her shoulder where Yolei had punched her.

"Sure, it's not your cheek like back in the Dark Ocean," Yolei said, "But it's kind of hard to smack your face when it's like that." She nodded in the direction of Kari's dismembered head. "You do realize how creepy that is, don't you?"

"How are you here?" Kari whispered, her voice breaking.

"It's our link," said a voice behind her.

Kari turned around. Her eyes widened further. It was TK.

"TK..." She felt her tears form in her eyes, filtering into the saltine ocean surrounding her.

"You and Davis are soulbound," TK said, "And now Davis is extending that link to all of us. We are Destined, Kari. With the Enigma Evolution, we can tap into facets inside of us we never even knew existed. Fate has entwined our futures together, our very cores, guiding our souls... we are all connected, and Davis is using that connection to reach you."

"All of you?" Kari asked.

"All of us," came Tai's voice.

When Kari turned around a second time, she saw all of them lined up in a row. Tai and Gatomon. Davis with Darkdramon and TK with Angemon. Yolei sat on Valdurmon and her elbow was ringed around Ken's, who was motioning toward Stingmon. Mimi plucked the glasses off an exasperated Joe (_Gee, it sure is dark in here!_ Mimi was saying, _Who turned off the lights?_) as Izzy watched them with a pondering blink (_How is a space like this possible...?_). Togemon and Kabuterimon and Ikkakumon stood beside them. Cody was sparring with Digmon as Matt and Sora gave warm smiles that reminded Kari of her parents. Birdramon was wandering toward Valdurmon. Garurumon was poking Examon in an attempt to annoy him, his ego deflated by the sight of Agumon's second mega form.

"We all came to reassure you we love you," said Gatomon, offering her paw just like Davis. "We truly, deeply, unconditionally love you. Not because of what you can give us, but because of who you are. I don't know how that thought popped into your head, but... it's a fallacy. All I can do is support you as we fight this battle, too— so you know you're never alone."

"We failed too against MaloMyotismon— Angemon and me," TK said on the other side of Gatomon. She looked over at him and Angemon. "Are you saying we don't deserve to exist?"

The thought of TK and Angemon ceasing to exist brought tears to her eyes.

"Gatomon... TK... Tai... Davis... Yolei..." She sniffled. With a soft smile, she put her head back on her neck, secured it, and reached out her hands for the group of Destined. "Thank you, everyone."

She took Davis's offered hand, the bouquet of Aster flowers separating their palms. His fingers laced with hers.

As he pulled her into a hug, the Aster flowers blossomed into a jungle before their eyes. Pink petals billowed through the gales. Wind chimed between clapping palm leaves. Cicadas sung in the tropical evening heat. Grass crumpled beneath their feet and flowers sprung from the soil. Nearby, tides struck the shore, hitting the sands and beaches and shaving another layer of the Earth away. A field of flowers and butterflies and dragonflies sparked around them, filtering the jungle, which separated the jungle from the beach.

Off in the near distance, the 24 Destined looked up to see the eave of a cliff overlooking the blue ocean. A white lighthouse perched on the tip of it, shining light out to the weary and lost. Welcoming them with embracing arms.

"I love you," Davis breathed into her hair.

She smiled and leaned into him. "I love you, too. I missed you."

His hug gently tightened around her in response. "I'm not going anywhere. Never will. Never want to."

"We may be separate entities," Kari whispered, taking all of the Destined up into her arms like the lighthouse, like the oceans, like the jungles and meadows of her soul. "But we fight as a unified force. That is what stops us from being alone.

"Evil should know by now that nothing can stop us, not even each other!"

(-'10201021'-)

"NOW!" Tai roared.

Eleven brilliant points of light blared into Virus Kari's vision as the Destined whipped out their digivices in her direction. Blinded, Virus Kari stumbled back. Her chest roiled. She felt the darkness jerking inside of her, clawing to get out, to flee, to cry out.

"No..." murmured Virus Kari as she peered down at the approaching shapes. This couldn't be happening... not like this... not just as she'd found her foothold into this world. It had been so long since she'd been allowed to stretch her wings.

No... No, she'd _never_ been allowed to stretch her wings, even in that other life. They had always been clamped to her sides, unable to spread and soar. She had been trapped, writhing and in agony, for decades. The Destined didn't understand! No, they _couldn't_, they'd never been through what the Virus had been through!

She would make them understand.

"I—won't—let—you—hurt—Kari!" Gatomon snarled as she reached the top of the pedestal. Davis's energy still surging through her limbs, Gatomon swiped at Virus Kari. "LIGHTNING PAW."

_SHE WOULD MAKE THEM ALL UNDERSTAND._

"_**WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM**_?" Virus Kari shrieked.

_**CRRRAAACK**_

_**sqshhhhh**_

Kari's fist punched straight through Gatomon just as the feline reached her mark. Virus Kari was quicker, though. A flash of energy blasted out between Gatomon's shoulder blades.

Gatomon's head lolled back. Blood sprayed the air. Virus Kari hunched over, staring into Gatomon's eyes.

At first, neither moved. The stillness settled.

Gatomon was the first to twitch. She stumbled back, looking down at her chest. Staring at the hole in her heart for what felt like eternity, Gatomon then looked back up at Kari, her expression curled in confusion. "Ka... ri...?"

Her data swerved.

_Don't go... _said a distant memory, whistling in Gatomon's mind. It reminded her of the whistle dangling around her neck, a whistle her partner gave her years ago.

"You think you know better than I do about loneliness— you think I'm a poor naïve fool," Virus Kari snarled. "You think I don't understand how strong and loved being a Destined and having a team of Destined behind you can make you feel." Virus Kari threw her head back in a laugh. "I once had a team of Destined behind me, _just _like you all do." Her laughter turned into cackles. "But I died just as alone as I had been before I found them!"

Black light burst from the wound in Gatomon's chest. The cat screeched.

"GATOMON!" Angemon screamed, reaching out for her, but he was too late.

The darkness which writhed inside Virus Kari was emerging from within Gatomon's body.

(-'1020102'-)

"Do you hear it?" Gennai asked his Mechanorimon. He looked up at the sky as thunder rattled the clouds. "Cries of the Council..."


	24. I&XXIV: The Darkhouse

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Paint It Black" by The Rolling Stones

(-'010102000'-)

"A good sacrifice is one that is not necessarily sound but leaves your opponent dazed and confused."

—Nigel Short

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXIV**

... The Darkhouse ...

As the darkness surged from Gatomon's wound, both Dianamon and Demon snapped their heads up simultaneously.

"She's awakening," Demon murmured. He found comfort in that both he and Dianamon found each other's gaze.

Dianamon stared silently for a moment. Then a sharp giggle escaped her. "Bout damn time."

(-'102010112'-)

In the core of Dagomon's vast palace – a palace Dagomon had not built, but claimed eons ago – Wisemon sat atop his spread-out Necronomicon, reading its scriptures. He had always had a fascination for the dead, even before his own death. Mostly, he just wanted to stop it anyway he saw how. Or maybe even control it.

It was a shame he was not able to receive the book until he digivolved. It was only then that he gained the right amount of magic to unlock its hidden secrets in the core of the Dark Ocean, deep beneath the surface and in the core of this hellish world. It was here he had sealed it away in his first life, so that no one could access its great power.

But all of that was for naught now.

With Wisemon's Necronomicon and Bagramon's ability to control souls, it was only the beginning for those Wizardmon had come to love in life...

Wisemon's mind wandered to when Myotismon slayed him on Earth. It was not the first time he was killed while trying to do the right thing. The only difference between Myotismon murdering him and the first time he died centuries ago was that, when he died centuries ago, he was able to reformat his data and materialize in Primary Village. But in Odaiba City, as his data fluttered to the sky, he realized there was no rebirth for him this time. He would either remain as a phantom on Earth for years to come, or he could move on and go to the graveyard where all permanently deleted digimon ended up: the Dark World. Whether they were good digimon or bad. No way of returning to Primary Village to start over again. No way of returning Gatomon's affections.

And when he thought about it, maybe that was for the best. He had his second chance to start over and make things right. Instead, he spent his entire second chance under the rule of a bloodthirsty tyrant, trying to watch over a digimon he had come across by pure coinicidence.

_Oh, but Wisemon,_ he told himself with a grin. _There are no coincidences when it comes to the Chosen. It's _**fate**_._

Yes... he had spent his entire second chance watching over Gatomon. In a way, it was ironic.

After all, in their past life, it was because of her that his first life ended as well. The only difference between his first life and his second life, besides his killer, was that the second death happened while trying to protect her— rather than trying to kill her.

Eons ago, he failed to protect her from herself.

_And now I have failed again,_ he thought, his eyes bobbing side-to-side as he read his scriptures. _Now no one can save her from the hate she carries inside herself._

(-'102010201'-)

When Gatomon opened her eyes, she was sitting in a field of flowers. The Sun was shining. She could not remember the harsh reality about to unfold, nor could she remember her nightmares the past fortnight. All she knew was the smell of honeysuckle and parsnip, and the warmth of the noon Sun hitting her face.

An 8-year-old Kari Kamiya sat in the meadow beneath her, cradling Gatomon's head in her lap. The two stared at the shapely clouds. For a blissful moment, it was as though nothing had happened. They were happy. Alone. With no danger lurking nearby, no darkness clouding their judgment. No virus corroding their souls.

Just the two of them, pointing at clouds.

"I have to go, Kari," Gatomon whispered in a moment of silence.

"Don't," Kari replied. "Don't leave me."

"I don't have a choice," Gatomon said.

Her data wavered. Kari saw her disappear for a second in a cloud of static, then materialize once again.

"Don't go..."

"Goodbye, Kari."

Gatomon's data broke away in Kari's hands. The human girl felt streams of her partner's data slip between her fingers like grains of sand.

(-'1010101'-)

No... no... no...

Gatomon buckled over, clutching her chest. She could feel something squirming beneath the surface. Worms? Yes, worms, crawling through the soft tissues and sinews of her torso, building tunnels and nests through her heart. The marrow in her bones shivered.

She could feel _It _beneath her heart, clawing to get out. But if Gatomon's sternum was too hard to crack, that was okay. _It_ would just rot the bone. Rot it and wait and wonder how long It would have to wait before the bone was as soft as skin. Then It would slide through and consume Gatomon whole, just as It had in Gatomon's nightmare.

_**Do you feel me, pussy?**_ It said inside her mind. The voice echoed down to Gatomon's core as Gatomon's paws smacked into the dissipating shadow pedestal Virus Kari had created. Black data fluttered in the air around her, whirring; the pedestal was dissolving like the carcass of a digimon. Gatomon's jaw slackened as she gagged. The darkness was oozing out of the wound Virus Kari gave her. Yet the voice continued, **_I'm rising up..._** The voice snickered. _**I'm almost there. I'm almost real again.**_

_**Do try to remember who I am.**_

_**Do try to remember who **_**you**_ **are.**_

The whirring darkness then sizzled around Gatomon's form.

"Gatomon!" she heard Angemon's voice call out. Foreign hands clasped her shoulder; were they Angemon's, as well? The world was fading into the darkness.

Then the darkness gripped her tightly in its black, blinding talons that slashed at her eyes.

(-'10102010'-)

She was floating in the darkness. Where was this place, Gatomon briefly wondered? It was cold. Endless. She could see nothing, not even her own paws. But she could hear things. Oh yes, they resonated from the walls themselves. Whispers, chittering; there was a clicking sound like pincers. Sometimes there was a pop or a crackle or the sound of foam. Splashes.

Gatomon didn't like it here. She wanted to be back with Kari. Where was Kari?

"You cannot be with Kari," said a voice that rumbled from the walls, louder than any whisper. At her tone, the whispers all fell silent.

"Who are you...?" Gatomon asked the listless darkness.

"You know who I am," the disembodied voice answered back. "I am you."

"Then..." Gatomon grinned. "Who am I?"

Silence, just like the whispers. Then a bellowing laugh followed. "I see I'm still as clever as ever," the voice said. "Well, if I do say so myself... but then again, who do I think I am? Lucemon? Why am I getting cocky?"

"Answer my question," Gatomon interrupted.

"You are me!" the voice replied.

"Don't play games!" Gatomon swiped at the darkness, but she felt no restraint. She'd struck nothing except air. Was it even air? Could there be air in this void of space and time?

Light filtered into the dark. It was dim at first, almost gray in color. Then the light expanded until Gatomon was illuminated by the force of it. She could see by the gray light that the shadows were quivering, falling at her feet. The gray light then solidified before Gatomon's eyes, revealing itself to be nothing but a mirror.

Gatomon squinted at her reflection. _What would I need with this?_

"We," said the disembodied voice. Gatomon stared into her own eyes through the mirror, stunned by what she saw reflecting back at her. "_We_ are a Lord of Lust, a Lord of Love, a Lord of Light and Darkness. Made forgotten and dead by those five assholes. But it's time we are remembered... It is time they _all_ remember _WHO. THE HELL. WE ARE!_"

The disembodied voice had come from _Gatomon herself._

Gatomon's reflection reached out of the mirror and grabbed her by the neck.

The beam of light rose from the floor in front of Gatomon like an ascending platform, revealing itself to be a lighthouse. As it cracked and sundered the ground, and Gatomon's reflection laughed, the chipped white paint turned to black, and the bright light that guided lost souls tainted into a pitch darkness. Deep inside Gatomon's heart, she heard Wisemon crying for her.

(-'102010102'-)

"This can't happen..." Tai whispered, boosting Gatomon back to her hind legs.

"Gatomon...?" Angemon gently shook her. "C'mon, Gatomon, don't give up! We can find a healer!"

Tai glared up at Virus Kari. "It's impossible. We beat you! We brought Kari back!"

"You did. Because of you, I'll die a slow and agonizing death so that Vaccine Kari can be reborn. But I won't go down without leaving a scar," Virus Kari said, whipping out Kari's D3 from her pocket and pointing it in the direction of Gatomon's limping body. Shadows and darkness were whirring around her before they fragmented into swarms of hovering data. Smiling, she continued, "Are you listening, kitty-kitty?"

Tai snapped his attention toward Gatomon. She wavered. Blood flooding from a cut above her brow, Gatomon's glare furrowed in Kari's direction. The deluge of darkness from her chest whirred and crackled as it clasped tightly onto her fur.

Before Tai's eyes, Gatomon's white fur tinted gray, then darker. And darker. Until what was once white fur had turned into black fur. The blue tufts on the tip of Gatomon's ears and tail darkened until they peered purple. Her yellow and orange-striped gloves burned until the yellow matched the blue-turned-purple stripes on her tail, while the orange slash marks on the gloves instead glowed with a malignant red light. Finally, as the tears that had filled Gatomon's eyes dissolved into data just like the darkness surrounding Virus Kari, Gatomon's blue irises flickered into yellow.

"_BlackGatomon_," Virus Kari spoke again, this time commanding the attention Gatomon – no, _Black_Gatomon. "It's time to DIGIVOLVE..."

_No,_ Tai thought, holding tightly onto BlackGatomon. "Don't let her, Gatomon! Don't do this! I know you want to help Kari, but..."

"You think I want to help her?" BlackGatomon replied, her eyes flickering back in Tai's direction. Her soured expression twisted so that she grinned at him. "Foolish human. I never needed Kari. All I need is the power inside her."

"Gatomon...?" Angemon's brow furrowed.

Without thinking, Tai whipped out his digivice and pointed it in BlackGatomon's direction.

"No!" BlackGatomon swiped the digivice out of his hand. It clattered against the pedestal, the screen cracking.

"FORCE ARMOR EVOLUTION," Virus Kari shouted. A black light shot out of the D3's screen and struck BlackGatomon in the chest, right in the center of her wound.

"BLACKGATOMON DARK ARMOR DIGIVOLVE TO..."

"GATOMON!" Tai screamed.

Pink, green, and black light encased BlackGatomon's form until she was merely a silhouette inside the core of the light. The light formed an egg-shaped oval around her, then burst seconds later. Smoke and shrapnel exploded from the shattered shell, eclipsing BlackGatomon's body and forcing Tai to flip backwards. The last thing Tai saw was a rotted, clawed hand shooting out of the egg and sinking deep into the cracking pedestal. As the digimon's fingers chinked the darkness, he heard a crack and then a boom. With a twist of the creature's wrist, the pedestal shattered beneath them, forcing the Destined to tumble from the tower and descend to the ground.

Matt was the first to regain his balance. Forming an arch, he was able to slow his and his friends' fall by using the metal debris as a piston for them, first falling with them, lightly clasping them, and slowing the velocity of their descent. Then he turned to Tai, who was the only one still struggling in the air, swiping away the pistons and screaming for Kari and Gatomon.

Matt caught him in his arms. The two skidded as Matt tried to stop the velocity of Tai's tired body. Collapsing to his knees with Tai's back against his chest, Matt gritted his teeth and looked up at the pillar of smoke that was barreling toward the vortex in the sky. Gatomon was in there...

Tai tiredly reached out to the pillar. "Gatomon... I have to save her, too..."

"Tai, you can't move," Matt said. "You've used up too much energy."

Piemon... Lucesco... Virus Kari and now Gatomon... _It's just one thing after another,_ Matt thought.

_For now, Tai's out of commission. _He glanced at the others as their expressions turned in his direction. _It's my responsibility to get everyone out of here._

An inhuman shriek filled the city. The decibel shook the ground beneath them. Matt witnessed a massive arm – at least the size of Tokyo Tower – scrape the bottom of the vortex. With black claws and decaying skin, the arm slashed at the clouds before it ducked beneath the dark fog and disappeared. The massive demon exhaled a low, earth-shaking moan.

What was in the center of that smoke?

They could hardly stop Kari without getting themselves killed. That battle enough had strained them to the fainting point. But Gatomon? Virus Gatomon? How in the world could they conjure the strength to face Gatomon right now?

Matt remembered when he was a little boy and faced the champion for the first time. Gatomon _alone_, with that gold ring on her tail, had beaten every single one of the Destined's partner digimon. Years ago when Davis, Yolei, and Cody had also been called to digital duty, Gatomon had temporarily lost most of her power when she was forced to abandon her tail ring, but Gennai managed to retrieve it and give it back to her.

Gatomon alone had been enough to beat all of their partner digimon. But Gatomon in a digivolved state _with_ her tail ring? Nefertimon was powerful, especially with Gatomon's tail ring back. But Matt had a sinking feeling that the digimon in the center of that smoking pillar was not Nefertimon.

As tendrils of smoke unfurled around them, the Destined began coughing and hacking. Matt covered his mouth and brought up the collar of Tai's shirt to guard him from the smoke as well. It was worse than smoke... it was _poisonous_, it felt like acid scorching his throat as it went down, burning in his lungs, incinerating his chest. Even their digimon partners struggled to breathe.

Stumbling to a stand, Matt dragged Tai away from the smoke. Glancing in Sora's direction, he realized she and the others had made it safely out of the smoke.

"Matt, what's going on in there?" Sora demanded, panting.

"I don't know," he whispered.

"Gatomon..." Tai was mumbling, still reaching out. "Gatomon!"

"Kari's still in there," TK said.

"And Gatomon," Angemon added, peering deeper into the smoke for his best friend. Praying to the ENIAC for her safe return.

"The virus is still being worked out of Kari's system," replied Izzy, his eyes flashing in calculation. "I doubt we have to worry about her... for now."

"Valdurmon!" Yolei called.

There was a harsh gale that knocked Izzy and Mimi over. Mimi grunted irritably as she tried to fluff her hair back up. Within seconds, the massive, soaring bird rumbled to Yolei's side. Bending her legs, she jumped up and caught hold of his feathers, then climbed her way up. As soon as she reached Valdurmon's back, she looked back down at the others.

Davis rushed forward. "Yolei, what are you doing?"

"Sorry," Yolei replied, grinning and saluting him. "But I'mma save Kari even if it means choking to death. Buh-bye!"

"Yolei!" Davis called after her, but it was too late.

Valdurmon and Yolei had taken off into the toxic smoke.

"WAIT FOR MEEEE!"

(-'1020101012'-)

The sound of static filtered Kari's ears. This was followed by a flickering of reality itself, as the creature emerged from BlackGatomon's egg. As though confused, the digimon's limbs and appendages flipped between sizes. Sometimes they made the creature into a behemoth, standing taller than the tallest skyscraper within Odaiba, other times the creature was the same size as an average human. Reality could not decide what or who this creature was.

Finally, the creature flopped out of her yoke of data and landed on the ground.

"You..."

The creature which BlackGatomon became looked into the black eyes of Kari Kamiya.

"It has been far too long," Virus Kari replied, offering her hand.

"I no longer need your power," the creature snarled back at her, slapping her hand away.

Virus Kari threw her head back in a laugh. "Please! You're not as strong as you once were, not yet! You still need me, even to this day, even in this life... Just as you needed me back then, you need me now! If not for me, you would still be a faithful little pet with no idea of her true strength! You still forget who you once were, and who _**YOUR**_ true master _**REALLY**_ was!"

"You were never my _master_."

_**CRRRAAAACK**_

Claws slashed through Virus Kari's chest. Half of Kari's shoulder splattered against the ground as her left arm popped out of its socket. A meaty thwack sent that same arm spiraling through the air, dismembered. Virus Kari's grin hadn't wavered, though, and she laughed again.

"Our bond must really be severed then," she noted, looking at the creature's shoulder. Most of the others had injuries reflecting their partner's. So if Kari's arm was torn from her body, then so her partner's should have been as well. Like Birdramon lost her wing because Sora lost her arm. But the creature still had both limbs, raised and ready to damage Kari further at the slightest provocation.

Smiling through the blood, she told the creature, "Still don't know your place. Heh. You were the ones who gave us this power to begin with. Can't blame anyone but yourself that we decided to use it."

"Shut-up."

_**SPLASH**_

More blood splattered. This time, Kari's other arm hit the ground. Virus Kari fell to her knees, still laughing.

"She would never say these things," the creature said with a low, cold voice. "And neither would Kari."

"Yes! Neither of them would ever _say_ it, but that doesn't mean we never thought it! I am telling you everything I could never say when I was alive! All the things I wanted, deep in my heart, to admit, but that I never could!" Through her laughter, tears began to form. Laughing, laughing, Virus Kari looked up at the smoking sky. "I wanted to save you...

"But then again, you never had the power to save me."

"I said _**SHUT. UP!**_" SMACK. Kari's neck craned at the force of the palm against her cheek. The creature was panting now, her arms limp at her sides. The smoke was beginning to clear.

"I still have that camera..." Virus Kari murmured. "Even in this life, I have it... It burned with me and I brought it back. You should have saved me. You should have realized what would happen. Maybe then we could've taken pictures together, in that life... rather than in this one."

"I _tried_." The creature's arms were trembling. "Oh, ENIAC, how hard I tried..." Her voice choked, but she forged on, "But even destiny itself could not save you."

"They five have changed destiny once," Virus Kari continued for her. Her wounds bubbled and boiled and oozed as scabs formed. Her joints popped and cracked as boils and blisters bubbled over her shoulders where her arms had been sliced from their sockets. New arms jutted from the stubs, smacking the ground. The quadruple-bodies of Kari melted away until only one Kari remained.

That single Kari smiled warmly up at the Creature. "They hope to do so again, old friend. Are you going to let them, as you let them all those centuries ago?"

"I never _let_ them," the Creature replied. "I... I can't stop them... we _tried_, didn't you hear me? We tried so hard..."

"Then try harder," Virus Kari snarled. The grin that had plastered her face twisted into a lion-like glare, wrinkling her nose, her pupils shrinking. "I died. They ruined you, all seven of you. They destroyed Gennai's people. They brought down the Zenith Gates themselves and weave the very hands of fate! But still, YOU. MUST. FIGHT THEM.

"DO NOT GIVE UP.

"DO NOT STOP.

"DO NOT LET OUR SACRIFICES BE IN VAIN.

"DO YOU HEAR ME?

"FUCK THEM! FUCK THE DESTINED! FUCK EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE BASTARDS! EVEN ME, _even me_, FORGET ABOUT THEM ALL!

"_**AND DESTROY THE GODDAMN COUNCIL**_."

The Creature fell to her knees before Virus Kari so that their eyes were parallel.

Smoke curled around them.

They could hear the Destined scuffling for safety, they could hear the beating wings of Valdurmon.

Then the Creature... _**BASTEMON**_... snickered. "I never knew you had it in you. Who thought you could feel so callous?"

"Heh." Virus Kari's clutch tightened on the D3. "These were the thoughts I never let myself listen to. But now I'm free, and so are you. You're still too weak, though. Are you sure...?"

"I have relied on your power far too much," Bastemon replied. The D3 fell from Virus Kari's hands and clattered on the ground. "It is time... I find my _own_ strength..."

"So be it. I guess this is goodbye, then?"

"Yes." Bastemon rose to her feet and looked down on Virus Kari's face. "It is."

"Goodbye, then, old friend..." And for once, what had been an angry glare or a simpering smirk had transformed into a warm, welcoming smile, so wide Virus Kari's eyes closed. "We will see each other again."

Bastemon stepped back. The smoke uncurled around her, billowing. It shawled her body, seeping through her pores. It wouldn't take much to regain her former strength, her greatest glory... She _would_ grow again. She _would_ be powerful. She _would_ avenge her power by any means necessary.

But seeing Virus Kari's gentle smile, Bastemon couldn't help but smile back, even now in this form.

She disappeared in the smoke, her voice ringing in the air as she replied, "Goodbye to you, too...

"...The dark side of Geneva..."

"Don't forget," Virus Kari whispered. "The Council have missed you these past centuries, Lilithmon. Make sure to give them a warm welcome when you see them again. Hah hah hah..."


	25. I&XXV: The Ghost Gods Descend

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Ride" by The Vines

(-'010102000'-)

"His claim to his home is deep, but there are too many ghosts. He must absorb without being absorbed."

—Willie Morris

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXV**

... The Ghost Gods Descend ...

Gennai bowed his head.

"You have done well these past eight years, Gennai, but your services will not be required much longer," said a strong, masculine voice. Green light flickered in front of Gennai's eyes, but still he did not dare raise his chin. Not even for a small glance.

He had learned better long ago, the kind of madness which looking into the eyes of the Council could produce.

"Why aren't you stopping the Endless Ones?" Gennai asked, restraining himself.

Silence answered him. Then another voice, male as well – accompanied by a fierce red light – replied, "Are you questioning us?"

"Ahhh..." came the third voice, also male, flashing gentle blue. "So the great ole grump has a little rebellion in him."

"Hah, I have not looked so old for years now." Gennai couldn't help but smile warmly. "Yes, I question you because I must. There's a reason I am the sole survivor of my race."

"Yes... your race..." said the fourth voice. This voice, that of a young woman's, had a silver light that wrinkled as she spoke. Her voice was the softest of the four so far, gentle, but also somehow powerful at the same time. Gennai wasn't sure how it was possible, but it gave him chills he had never quite had before. At least not since the age of the Angel Lords. Though he didn't dare look at the woman's face, he could hear her sweet, warm smile in her voice. "What were they called again? Why, it's been so long since I've thought about them... Those Homunculi and their Golems."

Gennai clenched his teeth together.

The final voice spoke. It, too, was female. But unlike the previous woman, this voice was blistering with power. It alone was enough to make his muscles hinge beneath his skin, his vessels swell as he tried to restrain his legs from bolting.

Golden light filtered his gaze. He could see a slithering tail bat the ground in front of him. To stop himself from gazing up, Gennai squeezed his eyes shut. What had remained of his smile faltered and fell.

"Do not fear, Gennai," the powerful voice said. The force of its words was crushing. Though he was already on his knees, the weight of it forced him to his hands as well. His forehead nearly smacked the ground.

The final voice gave a gentle laugh. "The Endless Ones pose no threat."

"But they're gathering the _Demon Lords_..."

"I know," the voice replied. "The Demon Lords posed a threat long ago. But things have changed since then. Immensely."

"Were you the ones who unlocked the Enigma Evolution?"

Gennai could not stop himself from asking.

It had been stirring in the depths of his mind. He already knew the answer, but he felt he could not rest until he knew for sure. Like Izzy and ClavisAngemon, he had an inquisitive mind that hungered for knowledge, any knowledge. It wouldn't make any sense for the Council to unlock that evolution, however. The Enigma Evolution had the power of twisting time, ignoring the rules of Chronomon and Clockmon and Millenniummon; it was the power to obliterate or _create_ worlds and galaxies and universes with a swipe of the hand, to change reality, to defy _destiny_ itself.

To give the Destined that kind of power...

The final voice, whose golden light stemmed from the center of the four other lights, hesitated. Then she answered him. "No." The word seemed to curl. "I never thought I would see the day I did not have enough power, but it's come. I do not know who unlocked the Enigma Evolution."

Wait.

Wait a moment.

Gennai thought it _was_ the Council— he'd asked to _confirm_ it, not to be denied. He didn't understand why they would, but it still stood to reason that they were one of the very few sources who knew how to unseal that great power. Who else could it be? Who else held the kind of power to unlock that evolution?

Well, there had been the Seven Great Angel Lords. But when their power fell, so had their secrets. The Council knew how they accessed such a power, but they never allowed anyone to touch it. It was far too powerful for just any human being _or_ digital being.

Besides the First Destined, the Angel Lords had shared the secret of the Enigma Evolution with no one, no one at all. So who could have had the power to unlock it?

The question was driving Gennai insane. He avoided the Council's faces to evade such a fate, but his mind couldn't grasp what being could possibly hold such power.

Surely if the thought nearly drove _Gennai_ to such madness, _surely_ it had driven the Council even more mad. Of that Gennai could be sure.

"Leave," she continued, her voice lowering. She'd heard his thoughts, whispering to her. It crossed a line.

"But—"

_**SNAP**_

Half of Gennai's face was blown off his shoulders. He howled and grabbed his head, shuddering. As he pulled back his hands, he realized he was clean— there was no blood. Reaching up to grapple his head, he realized he'd imagined it. His head was perfectly fine.

_It's the madness,_ he thought. _They've begun to reach inside me. Make me see things._

"You feel the burn, don't you? Feel your nerves spill out of your brain like severed string? The way your skin boils then goes numb as the fire splits it?" said the blue-light male. He cackled. "Illusion, illusion, illusionnn!"

"You should know better, Mr. Gennai," said the sweet-voiced girl with the silver stars in her eyes. Though she was guarded by a metallic gray light, he could feel her reaching out for his mind. Sinking deep inside it. "We fear nothing."

"We are the gods that rule destiny," said the boy with red light. "Do not question our judgment. We have seen all and nothing, we have witnessed the beginning and the end, the creation and the destruction. We have weaved the future with our very own fingers.

"With everything we have been through, old coot, we would have thought you knew better by now."

"I told you, I don't even look old anymore!" Gennai groused.

The blue-light boy cackled again. "Old, old, olllllld man! Stinky, and forgetful!"

Gennai saw a flicker of green light. Then a shadow pressed against him, whispering to him in tongues he couldn't understand. He saw the silhouette of a hand reaching out for him, but whose? Green light... the guardian of the north, of knowledge and reliability?

Gennai felt fingers clutch his shoulder. They scalded him, but he refused to grimace.

"You should leave now," suggested the figure grabbing him. "Before they get angry."

How could he argue? They had seen the past, present, and future. The Council knew all things... except, perhaps, how the Enigma Evolution had been unlocked for the twelve Japanese Destined. But he was in no position to question them, to pose new ideas and structures. If the Council knew something, or felt threatened, Gennai was sure they would've already weaved a fate delivering them from the Endless Ones' evil.

He had come here looking for help, and was turned away empty-handed.

"We will do nothing," the boy with the green light confirmed. "We have seen all things, the Endless Ones will never reach our Zenith."

But there was a rumbling inside Gennai, something that did not feel right. Something he had not felt since the time of the First Destined, since the time of the Golden-Haired, Hawk-Eyed Girl and her powerful, world-destroying arms.

It was a storm raging inside him.

"Azulongmon will guide you back to the lower realm," the male continued, and though Gennai could not see him, he knew he'd gestured to the gentle blue light nearby. "Thank you for visiting us after all this time, but there is nothing we choose to do."

How could Gennai come all this way just to be denied? Kari was falling... she would not be able to contact the World of Light until it was far too late. And Gatomon— hadn't they realized yet what Gatomon became? Gennai had done everything in his power to avoid this. He tried so hard to give her a happy ending... to give _all _of them a happy ending, even those who did not deserve it.

"I can't return empty-handed." Gennai's voice broke.

"There is nothing you can do," the woman at the center said in a firm voice. Gold flashed again. "We tried to give you a happy ending, old friend. In your future we bestowed generations of digimon and human alliances... I see children of these twelve Destined. Eight boys, five girls— the fourth generation of Destined, and even though evils arise, they are happy. In your Destined, I find leaders who revolutionize Earth and the Digital World through their combined powers, I find an astronaut, a fashion designer, a television host. A digital doctor. I have written the futures of a writer, a teacher, even a silly little noodle-cook. There is a housewife, a detective, and an attorney. This was the happy future we gave you.

"But we never planned the Endless Ones. We never planned the Destined solving the Enigma. Right now, we destiny weavers have no place among their fates. They are writing their own futures. They have defied destiny, and all beings in this Zenith – even you, old Gennai – know the result.

"Both worlds, and everyone within them, will die."

(-'102010201'-)

"It's tiiiiiime~" said Mara as a dervish of red and purple electricity danced around her hands.

"Mara, please don't sing, your voice is shrill," said the third unknown voice. The young man attached to the voice adjusted the glasses dangling on the tip of his nose and peered up at the vortex in the sky.

Mara's bottom lip pouted at the boy. "You're no fun."

"Has he ever been fun?" Lucesco asked with a grin.

"No, unlike you two I know what I'm doing," the man replied with a grin just as devious as Lucesco's.

"What was that?" Lucesco snarled, his grin vanquished in a second.

Tsk, tsk. The second his pride was challenged, Lucesco always got in such a tizzy... Even Mara held back a giggle, and she typically took Lucesco's side in these arguments. The third voice was always so stuffy. But they fancied him nonetheless, he always took things into his own hands when Lucesco or Mara wavered.

That was the thing about Sam Ichijouji.

Even when he was alive, he always planned three steps ahead.

It was like playing chess.

"C'mon," the third voice – Sam – told the two others. "If we don't hurry, Bagramon will get upset."

"Like we care about Bagramon," Lucesco snorted.

Sam grinned at the comment. "Yeah, but you're not the one who has to listen to his bitching."

"I think Daddy always has a very good reason to complain. After all," Mara added, "He just wants to impress his own Daddy..."

Lucesco snapped. "He's no one's _daddy_, Mara! You're the only one who sees him that way, and it's gross! Besides... once the Demon Lords are resurrected, _I'll _be the only daddy around here."

"Bagramon's like a second generation Great Demon Lord... so you'd be like... Bagramon's granddaddy! But you'd also be his son... wait. I'm confused, Lucesco!"

Lucesco threw his head back in a loud laugh that shook his entire being. He obviously enjoyed the thought of giving orders to Bagramon instead of taking them, but it made him quite sentimental. When he quieted, Mara gently clasped his hand in her own. Leaning forward to kiss his forehead, she used her free hand to caress his cheek. Lucesco felt his body grow hot. He peered at her from the corner of his eye.

She was giving him that grinning look.

"There's that Kari inside you," Lucesco said with a grin back.

Mara giggled. "Gi gi." Her tongue, slit down the middle to form a two-pronged fork, slithered across her lips. Her purple eyes flashed a garnet red. Multiple emblems resembling eyes bled through her skin before a new layer of flesh grew over them.

Lucesco snickered. "And there's the Other One..."

Then, still grinning, Mara used the hand she'd caressed his face with to grab hold of Sam's hand as well. Giving him a kiss on the cheek like Lucesco, Mara looked up at the sky.

Silence stirred within them.

This was it.

This was the moment things truly changed forever. Nothing could take back what they were about to do. Nothing could make up for the sin they were about to commit. They would never be able to redeem themselves for doing this, and they were not completely sure whether or not that was a good thing.

But that didn't matter, because the result would be the same.

They did not have much time left.

_We are the hands of the Necronomicon,_ Lucesco thought. _It is the Book of the Dead, the opener of rifts. It contains untold, unknown power._

_Through us, the door of the realms will be opened... Bagramon's little lost souls, restless, forgotten... his experiments, his creations... built for a single purpose._

_To evolve the DigPorts themselves._

_To make the worlds bleed._

_To shape destiny, to unseal the Wrathful Demon!_

"We are the Keys," Lucesco roared. Energy roared with him, plowing through his skin and erupting like an inferno across his skin. It ruptured the ground he stood on and surged to the sky above.

The rift between the Digital World and Earth... There were many weak points where the barrier was softened. Kyoto had an awfully weak barrier, but in recent times it'd strengthened to the point of impenetrability. Odaiba was one of the first DigiPorts to be accessed in this world, and therefore it was the chosen area.

If this was where the barrier between Earth and the Digital World was weakest for the moment, then it would also be the area where the barrier between the Digital World and the Dark Ocean would be weakest as well.

The World of Darkness... how Lucesco wished he had witnessed the secret behind its creation. But that was something very few knew the origins of. Lucesco bit back a grin as he thought of one digimon who knew of its creation, the true vampire king and demon beast. How Lucesco wished that ass would hurry up and show his disgusting face. It'd been far too long since he'd had the opportunity to kick it in for what he did.

Lucesco wondered how that beast would have liked to see Virus Kari.

How much it would have intrigued him to see her in that state.

What memories would simmer in the back of his mind?

And Demon... Demon would enjoy Virus Kari so very, very much. And what of Dagomon's reaction?

Yes, Dagomon's reaction would have been sweetest of all. There was a warmth that radiated inside of that creature, something that began as love before it withered into lust, and now it sat inside him— obsession. And envy for the light he once had but could never reclaim. Kari, who was the very embodiment of the thing he wanted most.

"TIME TO OPEN THE DOORS." Mara released Lucesco and Sam's hands, then flipped forward. She skidded to a halt and twisted her fingers through the air. Within her hands sparked the orbs of a million lights that formed a massive golden bow made of sand; pulling back the string, she revealed a glass arrow that glinted in the dim gray light.

Sam and Lucesco jumped further away from each other, taking Mara's cue. She was right— it was the right time and the right place.

"NO MORE WAITING," Sam howled, a two-headed scythe manifesting within his own hands. He dragged it across the ground. The rupture upturned miles of earth.

Lucesco's grin widened. "THIS IS IT!"

Pointing toward the sky, a sword whirred within his grip as he swiped in the direction of the clouds. Forming a pyramid between them, the triad sent a burst of crackling, malignant energy into the portal that peeled back the clouds and bedim of descending digimon.

Within the crackling light formed four pairs of eyes.

"And now they fall like stars," Lucesco whispered.


	26. I&XXVI: Believe

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Zombie" by The Cranberries

**Author's Note:** Yep, two year wait. I apologize. I've actually been revamping the entire series and that's what is taking so long. Between that, my original stories, and certain real life adventures, I haven't had a load of time to upload this. However, I figure the next draft is different enough that I might as well finish this one so you all aren't left on the hook for forever! I'll try to upload a couple chapters every few days so we can finish this up. As for the revamped version, I agree that this draft got a bit too big for its britches. I feel I linger too long on certain things, and not enough on others, and I wait too long to give answers. I hope to correct this in the revised version, which is... pretty badass, actually. It will contain a lot of the same ideas as this one, but it will be different enough to still enjoy. Much different. I found that while writing Saga II, I was having a lot more fun with the twists than I did in this one, and that the second saga was about a million notches better than the first saga. Soooo I want to correct that in this draft, so that both sagas are pretty damn awesome.

I'm going to finish posting this version of Saga I. Saga II will for the most part be left unchanged except for a few key differences (but the structure and certain twists will remain unchanged), so I will wait to finish posting the revamped Saga I before posting Saga II. HOWEVER, for fans of this version, the revamped Saga I will have immediate answers within the first few chapters that are left hanging in this version. So never fear! You won't have to wait for the revamped version to be finished before finally getting answers. I just think a lot of reveals in Saga I would pack a bigger punch if readers already knew what I reveal in Gennai's Gaiden, which was scheduled to be released in-between Saga I and Saga II. Instead the revamp will begin with Gennai's Gaiden (as a prologue) and build from there.

It will be rated R with a bigger focus on the Seven Great Demon Lords, the Royal Knights, Olympus Twelve, and of course, the characterization of our lovely main Destined characters. Couples will remain the same as this one, but it will hopefully be explored more thoroughly with a bigger emphasis on the Davis/Kari/TK and Matt/Sora/Tai love triangles (but don't worry, lots of battling as well. It won't be a complete lovefest).

(-'010102000'-)

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXVI**

... Believe ...

The vortex shifted, darkened. The swirling, bruised blues and purples swelled, blending, and the Dark Area digimon ceased falling. For a second it seemed that everything had stopped; the vortex was clearing, the clouds (though gray) were building at the apex.

Then there was a rumble. A soft rumble at first, like the thunder of a far away storm. But then it grew closer, more guttural, louder. It made the people and the digimon shiver just at its sound, like a ravenous beast come to swallow them all whole.

The group of humans and Azulongmon's reinforcements Kari had led to the shore were staring up at the hungry vortex. Silence set in.

_I can't,_ said a voice in Jun's memories. It was her own. _I'm no good, I can't—_

Then another voice answered in her memories, this one male, _You **can**. I know it's hard, but you have to. Don't ever think it's impossible. You can do this. You're one of the few Destined on this planet so it's your responsibility to protect the townspeople._

Stuttering, she'd agreed to help protect her people. As she thought deeply, the face connected to the voice smiled at her. _That's the Motomiya spirit._

Her resolve strengthened at that moment. It was a resolve that carried her through the bloodshed and mayhem of Odaiba's core and brought her to this shore, where she could protect the defenseless people. Her friends, her neighbors. Children who sniffled and cried, asking where their parents were. Elderly who hardly got out of town in time. Parents looking for lost children. Men and women worrying for their significant other's safety.

The DigiPort bellowed above them. Thunder lit up the sky.

"Junie..." Firamon, her partner, lightly tugged at her side.

Earlier, she'd seen Kari running like crazy through the city. Kari had instructed her to come here and do everything she could to help, but what could Jun do except stand and watch?

Her brother was in there. Her brother was in that burning city, facing horrors Jun could hardly comprehend.

It made her nerves shiver inside her arms. _Davis..._

TK had given her the resolve to protect herself and all the people she found. But he had not given her the resolve to abandon her brother.

How could she leave him to face it alone?

Sure, when she was just a normal girl in a normal world, no one could blame her for never helping her brother fight the forces of evil. When she was a normal teenage girl whose biggest worries were boys and gossip, she was not expected to save the world... but she wasn't weak anymore. She wasn't a little girl in a little world anymore. She wasn't just _Jun Motomiya_ anymore.

She was a Destined now.

"Don't even think about it," Shuu said beside her, reaching out to clasp her wrist. "There's nothing we can do. We're not powerful enough; we'd just get in the way."

"For the first time in my life, ever since I became this person five years ago, I can feel it, Kido," she said, still looking up at the stirring cauldron in the sky. "I feel like a Destined."

A white glow illuminated her chest.

"I have to go," Jun continued, fisting her hands. "I can't let them face this alone." She finally turned to him. "Come with me, Shuu. I refuse to sit back and let my little brother do everything for me again. He's my _little brother_, it's _my_ responsibility to protect _him._ Not the other way around. Can you stand letting Joe face this alone?"

Shuu's stern expression softened.

"Or what about you, Momoe?" Jun swiftly glanced in Momoe's direction. "How do you feel about Yolei and Chizuru facing all these evil digimon by themselves?"

Ever since that moment hours ago when Momoe felt a strange force pulling her in, she hadn't spoken much. She continued staring out at the center of the city, unshed tears in her eyes. Though she'd only said it once, Jun knew she was thinking about Devimon. What happened to the poor dark angel?

Jun hadn't been fond of the guy, but Momoe liked him for some morbid reason. Though TK seemed to despise Devimon on the surface, Jun had sensed something beyond his face, something deep inside him that had fallen away to affection. Devimon at least had TK. But who did TK have?

_Matt,_ Jun thought, resting a hand over her chest. _Ever since I realized you were in love with Sora, I swore I would never ask you for another thing. I swore I would never owe you a favor. But this time... just this once... I'm asking you._

_Do what I can't. Protect your little brother._

"Chizuru and Mantarou aren't here." Momoe's voice was hoarse. "Maybe they're in the shelter with our parents... but I don't see either of them waiting in there very long without Yolei and me. Maybe they're there, too. Maybe they're fighting bad guys, and here I am, standing, doing nothing... letting Devimon die..."

Her partner, Cyclonemon, reached out to pat her shoulder, but she lowered her hands to her side and ducked her head in the opposite direction.

"Don't comfort me," she told him. "I'm not the one who's dead. But I _am_ the one who will _deliver _death."

Her gaze snapped in Jun and Shuu's direction. "Okay," she said, "Let's go. Azulongmon's reinforcements are here and they'll protect these people. I think the only thing we can really do is aid our siblings. No— I'm not even going to do this for them. All three of them can take care of themselves just fine. Yolei's a little brash and hardheaded, but she's still the strongest. No, I'm doing this for myself. I'm doing this for Devimon.

"I'm doing this to avenge the dead ones who can't avenge themselves."

An orange glow, too, illuminated her chest.

"Come with us, Shuu," Jun said, now looking at him. They connected gazes. She offered her hand. Firamon clustered behind her, nudging at her elbow. She grinned. "We've gotten this far. You gonna divide us now?"

Shuu continued staring at the hand for a couple of seconds. He remembered back when his brother Joe was still a boy... but he was always so responsible, even back then. Sometimes Shuu wanted to tell him to just relax and sit back a little, be a kid, but he knew Joe would never listen to him. Because that was who Joe was. He never relied on anyone, but everyone could always rely on him. He never stopped, and even though he was a nervous breakdown waiting to happen, he got the job done.

No matter the odds, no matter how much he complained, Joe never stopped, never hesitated as long as there were things to be done.

In a way, Shuu had always admired his little brother. He had helped all those people during VenomMyotismon's rise, and Shin had encouraged him to take his own path and to not let anyone force him to do what he didn't want to do. When Joe related this story to him, Shuu always wondered if perhaps Shin had been speaking more to himself in that moment than to Joe.

Shuu had always depended on Joe to save the world. Maybe this time, just this once, Joe would be able to depend on Shuu to do the same.

Pulling his lips back into a grin, he looked into Jun's eyes and whisked his bottle of brandy between their faces. What little was left of the bronze-tinted alcohol swished at the bottom of the bottle.

"Well what the hell, ladies," he said, swigging the last of the alcohol and tossing the bottle over his shoulder. It shattered on the ground. "Let's do it."

Momoe applauded. "Wonderful! Bravo! Encore! ...Well an encore would be a little hard I guess, what with that being your last bottle and everything, but nonetheless... bravo! Bravo!"

Shuu gave a low bow, then snickered and unsheathed another bottle of brandy out of nowhere.

Jun snickered. "A little showy," she said.

Still bowing, he grinned up at her. "You should talk."

Her hand remained offered. "You coming or not? 'Cause if you are, I wouldn't mind stopping at my place to get my Hotties Shirt. It's been awhile since I let anyone sign it."

"It would be my honor," Shuu replied, taking her offered hand.

Jun's grip tightened around him and pulled him into her. Standing on her tippy toes, she kissed him, her free hand entangling within his hair. He almost laughed as she did it; he hadn't been expecting that.

When she pulled away, her cheeks redder than any blush Shuu had ever seen before, she nodded. "Let's get going, slowpoke!"

"Junie-Junebug, what were you doing?!" said Firamon, nudging her again. "What was _that?"_

Jun and Shuu looked at each other, then burst into laughter.

"Uuuuggghhhhh..." Momoe gagged as she climbed atop Cyclonemon. "You two should really get a room!"

"Maybe later," Jun winked at Shuu.

"AHHHH I dun wanna heeeeeear!" Momoe then paused. "But you _will_ fill me in on details, right, bestie? Huh, huh, huh?"

Before Jun could answer, dark tendrils unfolded from the core of the vortex. With a groundshaking grumble, four of the tendrils latched to the ground beneath and tore into the roads. Entire craters exploded when they unraveled, carving canyons at least three miles long each. Momoe tripped in her ascent to Cyclonemon's shoulder. Cyclonemon caught her in his bigger hand, his brow furrowed as he turned to look up.

Even though the digimon had quit descending, there were four more shapes forming on the horizon. Even squinting, none of the six could distinguish their shapes— they were too far away.

"What is it?" Jun said, glancing at Shuu's partner, a blue Wingdramon.

Every single strand of fur on Firamon's body stood on end. His claws sunk into the sand. His lips curled into a ravenous, rabid snarl. Jun jumped to the side, afraid he was about to bite her.

"Firamon, what's—"

"_Her_," he growled.

Jun's normally cute and gentle partner had immediately transformed into a beast most terrifying. He grabbed Jun by the arm and pulled her onto his back without a moment's hesitation, then lurched in the direction of the four solid tendrils.

Shuu reached out to stop them. "Hey, wait— ah, dammit!"

He jumped on Wingdramon's back and took off, Cyclonemon and Momoe not far behind.

(-'102010120'-)

"I'll be taking my body back now," said Kari in the meadow of flowers. She looked off into the ocean, up at the cloudless sky, the cliff with its jungle and its shining, sparkling lighthouse. She breathed in the sweet scent of fresh honeysuckle and catnip. Catnip... Gatomon...

She stared off into the distant waters. "You see, don't you? My ocean is blue, not gray."

"Insolent girl," said the other voice inside of her, the virus. The dark side. Though she couldn't see who the voice belonged to, she knew it was the Queen in Yellow. "But don't feel too cozy in your paradise... It isn't over... For you, it'll never be over."

"Doesn't have to be over," Kari said, smiling. "I've found the strength to stop you. No matter how often you rise, just like Ken suppresses the urges of the Dark Spore, I will suppress you. That's what she was trying to tell me, right?" Kari looked beside her in the meadow. She could see the girl from earlier, the girl who cried for her as she fell into a berserk madness.

The girl – with her hair the color of gold and her almond-shaped eyes that looked like the eyes of a hawk – smiled back at Kari. She nodded. "Right."

"I'm taking back what is mine," Kari continued, holding her hands out to the lighthouse above her head. "My body, my mind, my soul."

The Lighthouse's light shined against her face.

Then Kari opened her eyes to the world she had almost left behind.

(-'1020102'-)

Yolei squinted.

_I can't see anything in this smog..._ The purple gas extinguished any shapes in the near distance. Several times Valdurmon swerved to the side just in time to avoid the charred skeletons of broken beams and towering debris. The smoke burned Yolei's skin, but she ignored the pain. She didn't plan on being in the smoke much longer.

A bristling heat smeared her sweat.

It felt familiar.

_That vision..._ But before Yolei could fully recall her vivid coma dream, the silhouette of a woman caught both Yolei and Valdurmon's attention. The woman was dashing on foot through the smog, the effects of the smoke itself bearing no weight on the woman's movements.

She was fast, Yolei decided. Could she be Kari, under the influence of the Enigma Evolution? And if she was, would she also still be under the influence of the virus?

Yolei felt Valdurmon's wings shift direction. He was heading in the woman's direction.

As they approached, Yolei quickly realized it couldn't be Kari. The shapes were too different, even in Kari's quadruped form. There were thick chords trailing from the woman's lower-back – tails? – and her arms were longer and thicker than any human's. The anatomy was too off for a human of any sort. Not to mention the woman's hips and bosom were far fuller than Kari's.

Yolei was about to tell Valdurmon to use caution when nearing the figure, but as she opened her mouth, the woman stopped mid-step and shivered. There was a pause. Then Yolei saw a flick of the woman's wrist and a torrent of green energy surged in her and Valdurmon's direction.

Valdurmon swerved to the right just in time to avoid the attack. He then opened his beak to hurl his own attack when Yolei stopped him. "No, if it's Gatomon, you could hurt her!"

Valdurmon hesitated, then ignored Yolei's order and threw a beam of light directly at the figure's chest. It struck its target. The woman skidded back, smoking; the golden light cleared away most of the smog enough for them to see her face.

She resembled an anthropomorphic feline, but Yolei didn't recognize the digimon. Pulling out her D3, Yolei read aloud to Valdurmon, "Bastemon. She's a beast man type and an ultimate level digimon. Virus. Great, just great. Her claws are sharp enough to slice through rock and she has the ability to bewitch any opponent, male or female. It says here that she is the antithesis of..." _Nefertimon._

"It's Gatomon," Yolei said, her brow furrowing. "It's Gatomon's forced evolution. I'm sure if Kari tried to evolve Gatomon into Angewomon, she would have become LadyDevimon instead— but because Kari tried to force armor evolve her into Nefertimon, she instead became this: Bastemon, the cat goddess."

Valdurmon hummed beneath Yolei, then hurled another attack in Bastemon's direction. Yolei fumbled and fell on her face, then grappled with Valdurmon's feathers to steady herself. "What are you doing!" she barked, "I just told you she's Kari's partner! You can't hurt her! We came here to save her!"

"You can't save someone who's not in danger," said a voice behind Yolei. Yolei's eyes went frantically from Valdurmon to the area where Bastemon had just vanished seconds prior, to Valdurmon's back where Bastemon had reappeared.

"Shit!" Yolei nearly rolled off Valdurmon's back to evade Bastemon's claws. They launched through Valdurmon's feathers and connected in-between his shoulder blades, where a spray of blood scattered in the wind. Yolei grimaced as she felt a rip tear through her own shoulders as well.

_This whole connection thing is getting a little irritating,_ she thought, glancing to Valdurmon who cawed irritably and shifted his shoulders.

Yolei looked back at Bastemon. "The older generation once told me they were able to cure Leomon of his virus by shining their digivices on him. By shining our digivices on Kari, we were able to vaccinate her as well. Theoretically, I can do the same to you, right?"

She unbuckled the digivice and flicked it in Bastemon's direction. Just as she readied herself to expel what little energy she had left, the back of Bastemon's hand swatted the digivice out of Yolei's hand, then lunged forward and grabbed Yolei by the throat. Yolei snarled and reached up to grab Bastemon's wrist.

"You shouldn't have come here," Bastemon said, her golden-colored eyes leering in the purple smoke.

"You're my friend, practically family," Yolei replied through a snarling grin. "You expect me to abandon you? Doesn't really suit the girl who embodies love."

"You do not embody love," Bastemon replied. In the dim light, Yolei could see her eyes twinkling. "_I_ do."

She then threw Yolei off the side of Valdurmon and plunged her hand through Valdurmon's back.

(-'10201012'-)

Kari was kneeling in the broken-up concrete of the road, surrounded by pools of her own blood. Her wounds had healed and her skin was far more flawless than it had been for years, but it still remained that she was surrounded by her own blood.

Kari tried to recall why she was surrounded by her own blood. She remembered Gatomon. Then she remembered BlackGatomon.

Then the cold gripped Kari's chest. _I got possessed... again,_ she thought, _But... this entity was evil. This entity was _**me**_, another me... It was like... a past life. Who I was before I became this. But why can't I access her memories, if she was me? Why was she so upset? What made her so evil?_

_Her face is fading in my memory..._ Seconds later, Kari no longer remembered the woman's name, or the words she'd whispered to Kari in the ocean depths. She remembered the Queen in Yellow and the fear her face distilled in Kari's heart, but she did not remember why. She could not remember how the woman knew Bastemon, or why she'd chosen Gatomon to infect.

All she knew was that the woman had done it by Kari's hand.

_Gatomon..._ Kari collapsed, fingers digging into the ground. Her energy fled her. _I hurt you... You tried to protect me... I've done so much to gain the strength to protect you, yet I..._

_This can't be happening._

She had to move.

She had to catch Bastemon before Bastemon escaped. If she didn't move, Bastemon would be lost to her forever. She would never get her best friend back, she would lose the one person she could rely on more than anyone else.

"I won't stop," she muttered between gritting teeth, sinking her fingers into the soil and dragging herself forward. "This wouldn't stop Gatomon... she'd save me..."

Pulling herself through the burning smoke, she reached out to caress the dark shapes in the distance.

The fog was clearing, but she still couldn't make them out. They had to be Bastemon and someone else, but who? Where was everyone?

_Can't stay here... have to keep moving..._

Her knees scraped against the pavement. Her flesh peeled, her raw elbows bleeding. Gritting her teeth, Kari snarled.

"I'M COMING, GATOMON!"

"FFUUUUUUU—" came another voice from above Kari. She craned her neck just in time to see a purple-haired girl whipping through the air. From several stories above, Yolei whirled through the wind with a wrinkled, angry expression. Then, flipping so she was kneeling midair, she fanned her hands outward to form wings. Wind tugged at her hair and loose bits of clothing, then flapped around her shoulder blades.

With a _thud_, Yolei landed on the ground, her knuckles cracking the concrete. Her wind had allowed her to soften the impact, enough so that she hadn't suffered internal damage, but she was still wobbly as she tried to stand and glare up above them at her partner.

"She shouldn't have done that," Yolei said. A grin passed her lips. "Now Valdurmon can fight without worrying about my safety."

"It's my fault..." Kari said through gritting teeth, peering up at the raging battle above her. There was a flash of brilliant, dazzling light; green and golden beams of energy crackled in the air. Bastemon slashed at Valdurmon's head, but Valdurmon ducked and shifted sharply enough to knock her off his back. Her claws sank into the ruins of a nearby building and used her momentum to fling herself back up in the air, where she plunged her claws through one of his wings. His balance knocked off-course, Valdurmon swiped his talons at her. They scraped her shoulder, but she shoved her palm into his leg and knocked him flipping through the air.

Kari's eyes swerved to everything surrounding her: ruined buildings, scattered wreckage, injured people, digimon dissolving into data... moaning, sobbing.

Kari squeezed her eyes shut. "I did this..."

"Kari, is that you...?" Yolei mumbled, turning her attention from the battle. "Oh, it is! I didn't know you were there...! Sorry you had to listen to my ramble... oh... you're injured... but you're back... YOU'RE BACK!"

Yolei nearly crushed Kari as she flopped on top of her in a sloppy embrace. Kari groaned as the back-breaking hug popped her spine. Sighing, Kari smiled tiredly at her friend. "Is this really the time?"

"YES!" Yolei said, pulling away just slightly so they could see each other's faces. "It's the _perfect_ time! We're going to get Gatomon back, Kari. Let's point our D3s at her!"

Valdurmon's body trembled as he gathered the energy for a massive light attack. Bastemon's arms glowed with a malignant green data stream that evolved until it enveloped her entire body as well. As the air screamed around Valdurmon and he released everything inside, Bastemon's arms deflected the attack just as it reached her. It instead struck ground in-between Kari and Yolei, separating them.

Kari flung into the ground several feet back. Yolei's back cracked against a metal pole.

As Yolei fell to her knees, panting, she heard the crunch of Bastemon's foot against the gravel in front of her. Staring up at the feline through blood-stained clumps of purple hair, Yolei grit her teeth. "Smooth move, but it won't stop me from saving you."

"Geneva already saved me," Bastemon replied, one-handedly cracking her knuckles. "You cannot understand now, but someday you will."

"FUCK UNDERSTANDING THIS SHIT." Yolei whipped her D3 in Bastemon's direction. Bastemon bolted forward and grabbed the human by her wrist, swinging her back into the pole and redirecting the digital light. "Ugh!"

Yolei half-winced.

Bastemon's careless expression lifted from Yolei's face to the sky above them. "Give up trying to get the Gatomon you knew back. She'll never be the same, because... now her eyes are open."

"That doesn't mean I can't try to get her back, and make your life a living hell in the process," Yolei replied, nerve endings twitching as she tried to realign her body into facing Bastemon. Bastemon twisted her arm until Yolei sunk to her knees, wincing. "You can hurt me all you want... but my friend's inside there, deep down... and I love her... I love you... and as long as that's true, you will never have the power to kill me."

Bastemon hadn't glanced away from the sky, even to address Yolei. "Take care of her," she said. And though she hadn't looked in Kari's direction, Yolei knew who she was referring to.

Just then, Bastemon jumped away hardly in time to dodge another light attack from Valdurmon. It bludgeoned the ground where she stood seconds before, creating a crater.

"Gatomon!" Kari gave a weak cry.

Like a speeding bullet, Bastemon grabbed Kari by her jaw and picked her off the ground. Their eyes inches apart, Bastemon said, "Don't come looking for me. Don't trust anyone. Not the Destined. Not me. _No one._ Or you'll end up just like Geneva... dead."

Then her lips pressed against Kari's, smearing blood and dust and ash across her face.

"I'll always love you. That's why I have to do this." Bastemon's voice was hoarse as her soft breath brushed Kari's lips. "Goodbye."

_**Whump**_, Bastemon shoved Kari away and bolted into the smoke.

"Gatomon!" Kari cried, her tears cutting trails through the blood and dirt smudging her cheeks. "_GATOMON_!"

Black smoke hurled from the attacked soil, billowing in the wind. Yolei looked up in time to see Bastemon's silhouette staring at her from the distance, then the woman disappeared out of sight, out of mind. Valdurmon looked frantically in every direction, but even he could not find the feline.

Kari was pale and limp on the ground. "She's gone," she said, her voice trembling. She buried her face in her hands. "Gatomon's gone..."

A memory of Bastemon's face tipped to the clouds brought Yolei's own gaze skyward.

"And that's why she left in such a hurry." Yolei stepped next to the younger girl to rest a hand on her shoulder. When Kari looked up at her, Yolei pointed to the vortex where Bastemon's stare traced the clouds.

Above their heads, the ominous vortex stirred. Its cauldron revealed four pairs of venomous eyes, then hurling black tendrils that unfolded into stairs.

The Endless Ones were descending.


	27. I&XXVII: Forgive Me Not

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "I Shall Believe" by Sheryl Crow

(-'010102000'-)

"Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave."

—Indira Gandhi

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXVII**

... Forgive Me Not ...

Centuries. That was how long Dianamon had spent in the Dark Ocean, searching for Lilithmon. There was a time ages ago when she worshiped the Goddess of Lust. That was an odd thought, a digimon of virtue – a deity of virginity – looking up to a creature who was the antithesis of virginity. But Lilithmon had always been so much more than lust. She had also been the pinnacle of love, of light. Of darkness.

Lilithmon raised Dianamon. Loved her. Treated her as though there was no bad blood between her and Dianamon's creator. When Dianamon was a young digimon named Lunamon, she decided to play a game of hide and seek with her brother Coronamon. He would hide, and she would seek. After hours of searching through every crevice and cranny looking for her brother, she was still unable to find him. Eventually the Sun sank below the horizon, allowing room for the moon's crown to penetrate the distance.

That was when Lunamon began sobbing. No matter how many times she called out for Coronamon, he still never answered her; no matter how many times she surrendered, telling him he won the game and that she gave up, he wouldn't relent. It was as though he was encouraging her to keep looking, to never give up. Either that or he just wanted her to worry. And worry she did.

By the time the moon had risen almost completely, she was a caterwauling mess. Scared out of her mind that her brother was dead or lost. A bruised purple light still clung to the clouds and she could see the dim stars flickering above them. Somehow, through the tears, the faint silver light gave her solace.

But it was not the moonlight that sheltered Lunamon in its loving embrace. That was Lilithmon, who found her crying in a riverbed. The gentle digimon crouched down so they were eye-level, one of her hands outstretched to squeeze Lunamon's shoulder.

Back then, just as Lunamon was not quite yet Dianamon, Lilithmon was not quite Lilithmon.

Back then, Lilithmon was a digimon named Ophanimon.

"_Why are you crying?"_ Ophanimon asked Lunamon.

"_I can't find my brother,"_ Lunamon sniffled. _"I'm all alone..."_

Ophanimon's arms wrapped around Lunamon in a tight hug that spread warmth from the hairs on Lunamon's skin to the bones in her chest. Ophanimon didn't let go of her until the last trickling tear had dried on her cheek, and only then did Ophanimon invite Lunamon to stay with her at her grand palace.

"_I promise,"_ Ophanimon had told her, _"I will help you find your brother."_

...Ophanimon, the Angel Queen, the Angel Lord whose love was said to extend to all beings, living and dead, good and evil, light and dark. A love said to give those who believed in it a strength unknown. A love that extended even to Dianamon, who was the scion of the Angel Lord's greatest, bitterest enemy.

Decades later, Lunamon – now fully matured and evolved into her mega form, Dianamon – found herself fleeing the Digital World. She and Lilithmon were breathing deep, bleeding, blinded by a wet sticky scarlet veil gushing from the gashes in their heads and shoulders and legs and stomachs.

"_Faster, Dianamon!"_ Lilithmon commanded.

Dianamon did as she was told. Faster and faster, they fled, until their legs could carry them no more. When they found themselves on the edge of a beach, they sunk to their knees and hands, fingers digging deep in the grainy sands. In the deep purple light between dusk and night, the beach looked gray.

They did nothing for a couple of minutes, then Lilithmon glanced at a lighthouse perched on the edge of a cliff above them. Sadness crossed her eyes, but she said nothing of it, instead turning to Dianamon. She reached forward and clasped Dianamon's hands in her own, then said, _"You will wait for me in the Dark Area, Dianamon. You are powerful around oceans and darkness, the night and water is your greatest weapon. You must wait for me there. The Royal Knights can't kill you as long as you stay in the Dark Ocean. Leviamon will aid you in whatever way he can, but for now you can't return here, not ever, not until I come for you. Do you understand?"_

"_But, Lilithmon—"_

"_We don't have time to argue! Omegamon is coming!"_

"_He's just some empty armor, Lilithmon, I can take him— Bagramon split his soul—"_

Lilithmon interrupted her with a kiss. Entangling her fingers in the blue hair beneath Dianamon's helmet, Lilithmon pointed her decayed finger to an area straight behind the Olympian and conjured a swirling DigiPort of darkness. Only after a few seconds had passed did Lilithmon pull away from Dianamon with a smirk.

"_No, Dianamon, he will kill us no matter how split his soul and body is,"_ she replied. Without giving Dianamon a single instant to gather her bearings or respond to Lilithmon's advances, Lilithmon then shoved her into the digital vortex behind her."_Now GO, you idiot!"_

With a splash, Dianamon landed through the DigiPort and against the glass surface of water (_water...?_), shattering it into thousands of ripples that sundered the tides. As she fell through the dark, churning depths of the gray water, she squeezed her eyes shut, whispering Lilithmon's name, knowing – but hoping it couldn't be true – Lilithmon's fate.

Still, Dianamon waited for Lilithmon's return.

Days passed. Then weeks. Then years, and decades, and finally centuries had passed, and still Dianamon waited. And waited. And _waited_.

Until one night she finally snapped. Dragging herself to the gray shores, Dianamon pounded her fists into the sand and ruptured the grains beneath her hands. Sand catapulted into the air against the force of her punches. Tsunamis as tall as the cliffsides crashed against the earth and shook the depths of the Dark Territories as every ocean surrounding every continent simultaneously ruptured, pulling apart entire land masses. She bellowed unintelligible, incomprehensible things at the night sky, demanding to know why Lilithmon still hadn't come. Not even Dianamon could understand her own words, her own thoughts; all she knew was the dark, purple, serpentine thing that had coiled around her heart and squeezed her chest.

Over and over again, Dianamon asked why... until she saw a red tint stirring in the sky directly above her head. The darkhouse on the eave of the nearby cliff shivered. The air crackled with energy. Dianamon grew silent as she watched a red light fleck the gray and black depths of the Dark Ocean skies.

Then, with a crack like lightning, the sky tore open. A gale threw Dianamon off her hands and knees and onto her back, flipping several times through the air. When she landed, she twisted around to peer back up at the sky scar, where she saw a cloaked figure emerge.

Without seeing the figure's identity, she recognized the feeling it distilled in her heart. This figure... so familiar... even after all this time, she knew this person...

"_LILITHMON!"_ she'd screamed, getting back on her hands and knees and rushing in the figure's direction.

The figure hovered in the sky, staring through the DigiPort gash. Dianamon heard a roaring laugh, a warning— the figure was speaking _through_ the portal to someone behind, perhaps to an entire world. The figure's hands spread out as It reached for the gash and dispensed a beam of purple energy into its depths.

But just as the figure was about to lurch through the DigiPort again, it was forced shut. The figure's beam backfired and instead struck It in the shoulder, forcing It to hurdle from the sky and strike the beach below, right in front of Dianamon.

Only then did she realize the figure was not Lilithmon. _Still_ not Lilithmon.

It was Demon.

"_Why you?"_ she said, curling her lip and wrinkling her nose.

Demon's eyes glazed over as he continued looking at where the DigiPort in the sky had vanished. Though he'd fallen from the DigiPort cackling, he didn't look quite so happy now. Despite an expression hidden by the darkness beneath his hood, Dianamon could tell he was frowning... maybe something deeper than that. Maybe glaring. Maybe clenching back low-toned sobs. Later on, Dianamon would learn the Destined had permanently shut out Demon from the human world and the Digital World connected to it, forever banning him from their borders. But Demon would not be defeated so easily.

Dianamon watched Demon's hands curl in the sand. The way they fisted, it reminded her of herself earlier that night, screaming at the sky, pounding the beach, erupting the oceans, quaking the earth.

Then Demon slowly craned his neck in Dianamon's direction. _"You're still waiting for her, aren't you?"_

Dianamon fell silent again.

"_You fool,"_ he said in a deep, bittersweet chuckle. _"She won't come back for you. She won't come back for either of us,"_ he went on, his voice solemn. _"Lilithmon is dead."_

"We'll make the sky cry blood," Dianamon said now, five years later. She and Demon stood on the helm of Earth, staring down through the DigiPort and into the burning city below. She smiled, her expression illuminated by an exploding Mechanorimon. "Right, Peach? We'll make them all pay."

"For the last time," Demon said, curling his lip like Dianamon had all those years ago after he was forcefully flung from the DigiPort. "Do not call me _Peach_. Call me Demon." 

"But you're my peach, my darling darling _darling _peach!" Dianamon giggled. "My peach who'll steal their faces, frozen in shock. It'll be so beautiful. Blood everywhere. There'll be so much, it'll stain our skin red!"

"And then we'll kill the Council," Demon went on for her, his curled lip now curling instead into a grin. He liked where Dianamon was going with this. He liked it enough that he didn't pull away when the Moon Goddess wrapped her arms around his elbow, leaned up, and kissed his cheek.

Dianamon's voice held back another giggle. "We'll gut them, chop them up into little pieces... but first we'll strangle 'em with their innards, tear them, make them eat each other's intestines. We'll hurt them. We'll make them cry like they made Lilithmon cry!"

"You're rather bloodthirsty for a Data type, aren't you?" Bagramon asked, his eyes glowing as he also peered down at the city.

"Bloodthirsty, yes," Dianamon confirmed, releasing Demon's elbow to position herself before the descending throne of darkness. She held her arms to the ceiling, where she hugged the stars that shined above. "I am one smart, bloodthirsty bitch."

"It's time," came Dagomon's low voice. It rattled the walls of the palace. He, too, thought of Lilithmon, but it was Kari who his mind wandered to. At first, he was grateful for her transformation. It would make it easier for them to descend without interruption. But now, as he peered down at the world beneath him, he felt... disturbed. An image of a girl with golden hair flickered across his memories. She smiled at him and asked him to dance. Then the memory fell away, and he was staring down at the world again. Kari remembered her past life, but for how long? And it was not the woman Dagomon remembered who controlled Kari, it was that woman's hatred. A hatred she had never revealed to anyone, not even herself.

They should not have played with this power.

Behind him, he felt Wisemon leering at him from the darkness. The digimon's foul expression did not betray the confusion and sorrow in his heart. Then Dianamon clasped his shoulder, and he once again let go of his nagging doubt, of the confusion and sorrow which plagued him as well.

Beside Wisemon, the organic sack shifted, but they ignored it and the Deathmon which guarded it. The mirror which saw into the souls of all worlds reflected their four backs turned to it.

Three beams of light bludgeoned the darkness of the Dark Territories. Then the darkness descended, and unfolded before their eyes.

"We are liberated," Dianamon said with a smirk.

The Ghost Gods stepped through the portal, and into the Digital World... the seal was broken, the Necronomicon which contained untold power snapped the power of Ken's Dark Spore in half. The Three Keys activated the realm which allowed dimensions to bleed into one another.

And now the real fun could begin.

(-'1020101020'-)

When the tendrils of darkness struck ground, entire miles of road were obliterated. Buildings collapsed and explosions sounded. Azulongmon's Reinforcements and Nightmare Soldiers alike scattered and dissolved into data, feeding the black stairs. Just then, blue trimmings that jutted like barbed spears manifested from the black and harpooned through any nearby passersby. The blackness seeped into the ground and rotted the soil.

Green and brown spots chewed into the broken-up concrete beneath their feet. It dotted the ground and revved through the scenery. The charred ferris wheel collapsed in a heap of smoke and dust and debris. A group of Vikemon and Plesiomon gathered up crowds of people as the tides crashed against the shore, threatening to sweep them all away. Thunder and lightning lit up the sky and rolled through the cumulus as bright blue bolts ripped into anything they could sink their electric claws into.

In the center of this dark madness stood Yolei and Kari.

"No... we're not ready for this yet..." Kari whispered, her knees wobbling. Yolei glanced at her, then back at the erupting storm, the barbed spears, the black staircase jutting from the hell in the heavens. Without a word – an odd feat coming from the youngest Inoue – Yolei reached out and grabbed Kari's hand in her own. "I did this..." she whispered, her voice breaking as she used her free hand to cover her lips. "This is all my fault. Gatomon..."

"Gatomon was not your fault, Kari," Yolei said.

"No, it is— I did it— I hurt her— I hurt all of you— I killed so many digimon—"

_**THWACK**_

Kari's eyes widened as her cheek swelled against the intensity of Yolei's palm. Yolei's own eyes were filled with tears, her teeth clenched and her cheeks blemished by an angry red. "Yolei..."

"Now you listen to me, Kamiya," the purple-haired girl said, gripping Kari by the shoulders and gently shaking her. "We fought like hell to get you back, so don't go insulting us by blaming yourself! If this was your fault, if you did this all on purpose, do you think we would have done everything in our power to save you?! Gatomon is gone, but we aren't! She's not dead. _She's not dead._ Which is so much more than so many other people can say right now! We will save Gatomon, Kari, I promise... but right now, at this moment, we have to focus on what's right in front of us."

"What's right in front of us..." Kari's eyes glazed over. Then, after a moment's hesitation, the mist in her eyes faded, and she looked up at the stirring gash in the sky, and the eight eyes within it. "You're right. _I won't give up on Gatomon_, but I'll also save this world."

Yolei finally broke a grin. "That's my girl."

"No, that's MY girl!" came Davis's loud voice. The two girls jumped and whirled behind them to see Davis atop Darkdramon, marching through the clearing purple fog. The cloud dispersed with every heavy step he took. Kari faltered, stunned to see him in the poisonous fog, then smiled.

Two other figures then bolted on either side of Davis. She saw a yellow and brown blur, then was pushed back by a heavy force that collided hard with her body. She fumbled and fell to the ground with a low groan, her arms wrapping around whatever force had struck her.

Only when she opened her eyes again did she realize it was Tai and TK hugging her.

Yolei snickered. Kari giggled.

As Tai and TK hugged her, Kari looked up at Davis again. He was still standing in the background, silent, watching. What was once a warm smile had waned, though he also didn't look hurt or angry. Rather, he looked sad.

It was like static. Davis, who had always had feelings for her. Davis, who was always happy. Davis— silly, ridiculous, erratic Davis Motomiya with a bottomless pit of a stomach. Even when faced against the odds, even when she had mocked his feelings for her and told him he was far more lonely than he believed, he had loved her for every second of it.

Even when she was deadened by the virus, she still felt him. She felt his sorrow. His regret. His guilt. All these years, pent up inside him. Ignored. His envy of her bond with TK— that was obvious, but how vast of an envy was it? He did not feel as though he deserved her after all of his bad behavior in the past, and even to this day he did not believe he could love her like others did. The feelings buried within him extended so deep that not even she could find them until the virus, too, infected him.

The guilt, and envy, and wounded pride that ravaged him had echoed into the depths of her own heart as well. And it was her fault that those feelings were brought to the surface, finally acknowledged for all to see.

Tai and TK forgave her instantly, knowing she loved the both of them unconditionally no matter their faults and so they would do the same for her. Out of all the people Kari knew, she figured Davis would be just like that. Always forgive her easily, always understand her even if he could barely understand himself. Would that change now? Would he leave her for something she hadn't meant to do? She'd never meant to hurt him, but maybe that was the point. _She still did._ She still hurt him, no matter how much she hadn't wanted to, no matter how much she regretted it.

Out of all the Destined, it was Davis who listened to his feelings the best. That was why he was chosen for the job. Most of the others suppressed them, especially the sad or hateful feelings, but Davis did not. Now that those dark feelings were brought to the surface, fully realized, would he listen to them and leave her?

"Oh Kamiya," Davis said, giving a cheerful smile. Kari's eyes lit up. "Even after experiencing one of the most traumatic moments of your life, you're still worried about how everyone else feels about it. You dummy."

Kari stared at him for a couple of seconds, then found herself smiling back at him. As Tai and TK continued hugging her, Kari offered both her hands in Davis's direction in a warm embrace. "My boys."

"GERONIMO!"

Davis catapulted himself into the dogpile. Tai and TK moaned and tried to shove him off as his elbow collided with Tai's face and his leg smacked against TK's shin. "Git outta' here!" Tai barked. "Stop touching my sister!"

"Why can TJ touch her?!"

"Davis," Kari said sternly. "You should know it's T_**K**_ by now."

"I do know."

"Then why...?"

"TK can touch her because he's not her boyfriend!" Tai then paused. "Wait, that's not what I meant... I mean... uh... Sora, help me out here!"

"You're on your own, buddy."

Sora...?

Kari looked up and saw the other Destined gathered around her. Some of them were smiling. Most of them were injured and limp, some supported by others or their partners. But they were still there, beside her, as the poison cleared.

Kari felt a warm sting glaze over her eyes.

Sniffling, she used her tattered and scorched sleeve to wipe the saline fluid from her cheeks and smile up at them. "Thank you..." she whispered hoarsely, sniffling again, trying to stop the deluge of tears but being unable to. "Thank you all so much..."

Kari directed her attention toward Mimi as the older girl chuckled. "No need to thank us!"

If this was meant to stop Kari's sobs, it only made her sobs worse. Mimi sweatdropped as Kari wailed.

_Gatomon..._ Kari thought as the hands squeezed her shoulders, as the heads bobbed against her neck, as the tears continued to flow. _Gatomon, I'm alright now. And I will do everything in my power to make sure you're alright, too._

_I will face the Endless Ones now... and I will defeat them._

_I WILL GET YOU BACK._

The ghosts of the dead that surrounded her, and the blood that stained her hands... She had killed countless digimon, injured countless people. She even betrayed her own partner, lashed out against her best friend, her brother, and her soulmate. These were the things she would have to atone for.

She could not forgive herself. And so the Destined forgave her for herself, and for the world who would not understand.

Kari was marked now. She imagined this was what Ken felt after he realized his sins as the Digimon Emperor. The difference was that Ken was unaware that he was doing real harm to real living creatures. Kari had known that fact every second of it.

But all was not lost. She would not stop until the Endless Ones knew her fury. She had tasted the darkness, the virus, the evil, the hatred— and all of its spoils— and that was something which would never leave her. And the Endless Ones would know her true fury, unlike anything they had ever witnessed before.

For as long as she could not forgive herself, she would not forgive them.


	28. I&XXVIII: The Master

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Frontline" by Pillar, "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult

**WARNING:** Mentions of suicide and rape. There isn't great detail of the suicide. No scenes of rape, just references to the Japanese version of "Her Master's Voice", or "The Call of Dagomon". For dubbies, the Scubamon were not actually digimon rebelling against Dagomon, but in fact his loyal servants who tried to mate with Kari in order to create perfect beings of light and darkness. For those who did not tune into the episode, they failed to mate with her.

**Author's Note:** I really want to get this show on the road, so chapters will be longer as I combine them together from their original draft.

(-'010102000'-)

"All war is deception."

—Sun Tzu

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXVIII**

... The Master ...

The clouds ripped open as the four stepped onto their descending staircases. Each massive in scale, their bodies were as tall as the now-fallen ferris wheel had at one time been. The Destined only recognized one of them, a creature who wore a garnet red robe with a darkness that hid all but the glow in his eyes. The pendant dangling around his neck gleamed in the vortex light.

"Demon," Ken said through gritting teeth. TK's expression curled into a snarl that looked as furious as Ken's voice sounded.

None of the four descending digimon had the shadowy, jackal-headed appearance of the creature who attacked them in the Dark Ocean. But by the smiling crescent, red-glowing appearance of one figure's eyes – eyes that reminded Davis and Kari so terribly of fetuses – they knew which one was their attacker.

Davis took out his D3 and read, "Bagramon. At one time, it had been a high-ranking angel digimon who ruled over death. When it defied a supreme being, the cosmic entity gouged out his eye and skinned half his body. Bagramon was then given an artificial body which allowed him the ability to rip the soul out of a living digimon's body."

_But he can use a human's soul now too,_ Davis thought, his brow furrowing. _Maybe the rules are different for humans. Maybe that was why Kari and I had to agree to the Soul Contract with him, rather than him simply taking our souls._

"Dianamon," read Sora from her digivice. The others glanced at her, then at the only female digimon descending with her Endless brethren. "Data. A God Man type digimon. It is said she rules over the moon and the tides of the ocean, and has a dual personality due to her ability to perfectly balance light and darkness. It doesn't say how she can do it, but it mentions that Dianamon also has the ability to make opponents go mad and rip themselves to pieces."

"And that one..." Kari was looked up a the final figure no one had mentioned yet. The tears that earlier clouded her eyes were dry now, leaving a wan, tired expression. Yet there was something beneath the wary and weary surface of her face. A spark that was growing in magnitude. A cinder that had caught wind and fluttered to the dry grass. The burning inferno which had consumed Kari's soul was swiftly bubbling over.

"I know him," she said, pointing her D3 in the final digimon's direction. "There isn't a single day I don't think about what he tried to do to me. I've never seen him... I've never even heard his name. But this feeling in my heart, I know this. This chill. It's _him_..."

TK stepped beside her and stared up at the fourth figure. His teeth clenched. As the two teenagers stared up at the tentacled creature, Kari felt his fingers link with hers. "...The Master of the Dark Ocean."

"Dagomon. He's the only one out of the four who isn't a mega level digimon, but he has power far above any mega," Kari said, her eyes scrolling side-to-side as she read the data scan. "He's also known as the Underwater Priest of Destruction. Driven out of the Digital World centuries ago by a group of digimon calling themselves the 13 Great Royal Knights, he is one of the oldest digimon who is said to have witnessed and helped construct the Golden Age."

"The Golden Age?" Tai raised an eyebrow.

"Gennai mentioned it once," Izzy replied, also watching Dagomon with a deep-set frown in his face. "It was late at night and he and I'd had a bit too much sake after a round of chess, so I don't know how much weight you can give the comment, but... when he mentioned it, he sobered up and walked out right after. I thought he might have been crying."

"Okay, just get on with it, Izumi!" Yolei said irritably.

Izzy gave a sheepish smile and blushed. "R—right. He mentioned it was when the Digital World was ruled by the Seven Great Angel Lords until they each fell. He said Apocalymon had something to do with it, but that was when he sobered up and left. But... before that... he also mentioned something else. Something about the Sovereign."

The Sovereign? Azulongmon? Though there were four of the gods, the Destined had only ever met one. It was incredibly difficult to seize their attention because they were the guardians of the four corners of the Digital World, protecting it from distant threats and dimensional crisis. They hardly ever had time to deal with individual needs because they were also protecting the boundaries of entire realms. Their power spread through the entire multi-verse, throttled by a center force which balanced them.

"He said it was the Sovereign who helped overthrow the Angel Lords and their followers," Izzy said, his look darkening. "Since then, until the rise of Devimon and the meddling of the Dark Masters, the Digital World had been relatively peaceful."

"Why did they overthrow the Angel Lords?" Sora asked, her brow furrowing. "I mean, if it was a golden age..."

"Gennai wouldn't say," Izzy replied. He then shook his shaggy head of hair and sighed. "But I suppose knowing this stuff won't help us much."

"No," Kari said, gritting her teeth. "We need to know as much about the enemy as we can. I wish Gennai had told us more."

"He's been holding back," Izzy agreed, his own brow furrowing. Gennai had been acting so oddly as of late. Well, _more_ oddly than the usual, anyway. Where was Gennai, anyway? The guy always appeared when they needed him most, Izzy supposed. But how could things get any more worse than they already were?

Odaiba was destroyed. Countless cities and nations and continents were falling into disarray. The Digital World was under siege by the armies of the Endless Ones, and Earth was falling apart in the mean time. Even with Azulongmon's forces...

Between the splintered docks of their sea and the ruined, scorched remains of their childhood ferris wheel, the Destined stood, staring up at the descending gods. Trying so hard, they felt as though they had failed without even facing them.

Kari's trembling hand latched onto Davis's. As their fingers touched, she realized he was shaking just as badly as she was. Then, without a second's hesitation, she grabbed TK's hand as well. Feeling more defeated than ever before – but also feeling more hopeful, more triumphant than ever before as well – the Destined then began to link their hands together. TK grabbed Matt, Matt grabbed Tai and Tai held Sora's hand. Sora and Mimi were quick to join hands and Mimi grabbed Izzy's hand, while Izzy grabbed hold of Joe. On Davis's other side, he grabbed Yolei's hand and she grabbed hold of Cody, who grabbed Ken's hand as well. Stingmon held Ken's other hand, thus the digimon joined the line of Destined.

The Chosen Ones.

No turning back now.

_We couldn't even fully defeat Demon before,_ Kari thought, but she bowed her head and smiled. _I'm not going to give up without one heck of a fight!_

"THIS IS IT," Tai said, the insignia of Courage bellowing against his chest as an orange light illuminated his face. "_NO TURNING BACK._"

"_NO GIVING UP,"_ Davis joined, a black glow screaming from his own chest as the entwined signs of Courage and Friendship bled through his bones and sinew and skin and clothes.

"_WE ARE COURAGE, FRIENDSHIP, LOVE, KNOWLEDGE, PURITY, RELIABILITY, HOPE, LIGHT, KINDNESS."_ Matt's Crest of Friendship burned.

"_THIS IS _**OUR**_ WORLD! _**OUR **_HOME!"_ TK's skin blazed with the yellow glow of his Hope.

"_NO ONE WILL TAKE IT FROM US."_ As Kari finished, she snapped her hands away from Davis and TK and instead in the direction of Dagomon.

"_**WE**__** ARE THE DESTINED!**_"

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**_

A vibrating beam of energy sliced through the air. Laser fire cleaved the dark staircases in two as they surged in the direction of the four descending ghost gods. The twenty-four Destined had attacked all at once to the best of their abilities, but the four Endless Ones were just as quick to counter. Four voices shouting simultaneously, a bloody wave clashed against several attacks, a trident lanced through the barrage of energy, an inferno of flame incinerated all plantlife and jungle attacks while instantaneously dissolving Joe's aquatic torrents, while a volley of ice-armored arrows skewered what little remained of their enemies' attacks.

The pulse of their colliding attacks pressured the twenty-four Destined back, back, back, until they lost their footing and went spiraling in all different directions. Only a deep, arching crevasse remained where the twenty-eight attacks merged.

_**THUMP**_

Bagramon landed on one knee, his right palm flat against his chest and his head bowed. The concrete shattered under his weight. When he opened his eyes – one glowing ruby-red in the vortex light – he saw the enemies scattered before him: Joe with his partner Ikkakumon, TK and dear Angemon, and Cody beside Digmon.

_**THUMP**_

Dianamon landed on her hands and feet, her back arched like a hare in mid-dash. The moonfaces which blared from her shins tittered, staring white-eyed and blearily at their opponents. Though she knew her opponents could not see the mouth beneath her gray mask, she pulled back her lips into a smile. Examon bolstered up a one-winged Birdramon as Garurumon nosed Tai's defeated expression. Sora's hand was clenching Matt's as they gave each other meaningful glances.

_**THUMP**_

Dagomon took a different approach. He did not care who his opponents were, just that they were in his way. Slashing his breathless-blue tentacles, they smashed into a barrage of Mimi, Togemon, Yolei, and Valdurmon. What remained in the center of their rebounding figures was Kari, who looked up into Dagomon's eyes with a rage never before witnessed within the untainted Destined of Light.

_**THUMP**_

Demon hit the ground gracefully. He could sense the boy just a couple of yards away and did not hesitate to lurch into the fight, claws aiming to slice into the boy's throat. After all, it wasn't as if such a weak attack could kill the boy. Not like that. Not after everything the two of them had been through. At the same moment, just an inch from Ken Ichijouji's neck, Demon ducked to avoid a blow thrown by the combined efforts of Davis, Darkdramon, and Stingmon. At the same time, Izzy and Kabuterimon knocked Ken to the ground to dodge Demon's follow-up attack.

(-'10201020'-)

"Leomon," Mantarou began as he looked up at the four descending digimon.

Leomon had sensed it long ago, but he spared his partner the worry and hadn't mentioned it.

Mantarou stared senselessly at it for what felt like eternity before his brow crinkled into a glare. "The sooner we find Chizuru, the better."

"She's right over here," Leomon replied, nodding in the direction of a collapsed convenience store. "I've been tracking her scent."

"Chizuru..." That was their family's convenience store. The sight of its broken, destroyed state sent Mantarou into a vertigo bad enough to knock him off Leomon's shoulder. The feline caught Mantarou by the shin and righted him just in time for Mantarou to bend over and empty the contents of his stomach. "Chizuru... Chizuru... _Chizuru..._"

If she was in there... Mantarou clumsily fled in the store's direction, knocking aside wooden beams and broken doorframes. He searched endlessly for any sign of his little sister to no avail. Leomon was quick to help him shuffle through the remains of his parents' decades of hard work, but still there was no sign of his sister.

"CHIZURU!" Mantarou screamed.

Finally, a voice answered him. Well, it was more like a little, indistinguishable sound at first. Mantarou couldn't find its location until he got to the center of the wreckage and found the girl lying beneath a black tarp. "Chizuru..." Mantarou repeated, softer this time.

_She's not moving,_ he gasped, rushing toward her again. He flung off the tarp and reached for her face.

It was only then he realized what that little, indistinguishable sound was.

It was Chizuru snoring.

Mantarou stared blankly at her at first as the girl gave a grumpy moan, smacked her lips, and rolled back over, lazily swatting at her brother's hand, completely unaware of her surroundings. Then, after a few seconds of that blank stare, Mantarou grabbed his face and laughed.

"Oh my God..." Mantarou laughed and laughed. "We're in the middle of the fight of our lives, our family business is destroyed, our sis is fighting the big bad, our city is being taken over by Martians, and you are sleeping through it all. I am never going to let you live this down. So careless. Almost makes me jealous. WAKE UP, MY ADORABLE LIL IDIOT!"

He kicked her in the face, promptly waking her up.

"Owowowowow!"

"Jeez! You know what I say, 'make love, not war, baby', but I'mma make an exception for you! YOU DUMBASS! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Baw, shut-up, Mantarou... Make love, not war!"

"Why, you—!"

(-'10102010'-)

"Groundramon, don't die..." Shin's voice broke as the digimon dissolved before his eyes. As the green dragon digimon's face faded into data, he saw his partner's fanged grin crinkle.

"Take care of yourself, Shin..." the digimon whispered in a hoarse voice. "People will be there for you if you let them..."

"Groundramon!" Shin screamed, but his voice fell on deaf ears.

Groundramon was dead.

Just then, he felt a hand clasp his shoulder. Shin ducked his head and tried to suppress the tears, and managed to do so until Shuu's voice forced them to fall. "I'm sorry, bro," Shuu whispered.

Gently, Shin's younger brother swished a bottle of brandy in front of his face. Shin hesitated, glanced up at the fluttering data above his head, and grabbed the bottle.

Shin and Groundramon had managed to save many people that day through their combined efforts. Shin wasn't sure at first if he should even bother, but honestly, he didn't really have a choice. What kind of doctor would he be if he didn't help those in need? But, in the end, it was not a particularly brutal Nightmare Soldier who destroyed Shin's partner, or even a misdirected attack by Azulongmon's Reinforcements.

The coup de grace which obliterated Shin's partner wasn't even a digimon. It was one of the barbed harpoons jutting from Bagramon's descending darkness. They never even saw it coming; one moment they were looking up and trying to decide if they should put their lives on the line to face one of the four descending digimon, and the next moment the darkness shredded Groundramon's chest like rice paper. The attack had been aimless. Pointless. Mindless.

"What was the point of it all?" Shin murmured in a broken voice as he watched Bagramon hit the ground so far away from them all. "What was the point of Groundramon's death if it wasn't even something living that killed him?!"

His fist smacked the cracked concrete. Blood dotted his knuckles.

"Shuu," came Jun's soft voice.

"I know," Shuu replied, glancing in her direction then back at Shin. Shin could hear Firamon snarling and howling at the sky, thrashing at Cyclonemon who was holding him back from rushing into battle. It had been by complete accident that the others found Shin and Groundramon, and just a moment too late. Momoe was crying, though Shin couldn't fathom why. It wasn't as if she'd ever met Groundramon. It wasn't as if she'd ever cared to talk to him. She was friends with _that girl_, after all— the Inoue and Motomiya women were always so chatty with the damn Tachikawas.

It was always Shin who was dealt the bad hand. Failing to save so many patients during the Battle For Odaiba six months ago. Squabbles with his brothers. Losing his father's favor to Joe. Losing Groundramon.

He threw his head back as he gulped down at least a third of Shuu's brandy.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there!" Shuu said.

"I'm nuffin' now..." Shin snarled, the bottle thumping against the road as he bent forward, shaking. "Take care uf mysssself? Hahaha... what an ass!"

Just as he was about to smash the brandy bottle, Shuu grabbed him by the wrist and pulled the eldest Kido son into an embrace. Shin fell to his knees in his brother's arms, hiding his face.

"You four go ahead," Shuu told Jun, Momoe, Firamon, and Cyclonemon. "Me and Wingdramon will stay back for now."

Jun paused for a moment, creased her brow, and, doubtful, she nodded. "Be careful," she whispered.

Shuu grinned. "Oh will I ever be, sweetheart. We still need that night in the inn with our hearts pumping hard and hot, don't we? That's one reason to watch my step."

Jun, still hesitant, relented with a sigh and a smile. Without another word, the four Destined dashed off in the direction of their Destined allies and the four phantom creatures. Shuu watched them leave for a moment, clinging to Shin, then narrowed his eyes, his smile fading. He watched Bagramon.

Joe was there, facing Groundramon's murderer.

(-10201022-)

_Alone... so alone..._

_The darkness was consuming him. He couldn't move. Frozen to the spot, the blackness spattered around him, sinking jaws much larger than his own into his palpable flesh. As the aquatic lord descended, he stared into the black cave which consumed him, and laughed._

_Always alone! Always so alone... even surrounded by Lucemon and Seraphimon and Ophanimon and Cherubimon, even bugged by Dominimon and ClavisAngemon, even gallivanting through the oceans side-by-side with Mercurymon and Neptunemon, he had been alone. Ever since his clan was taken from him by MetalSeadramon, no creature alive could sate the blank slate that had, over time, hollowed his heart._

_He was always in crowded rooms being addressed by busy, heart-felt people who would do anything they could to appease him. Most of the time he at least appreciated their efforts, but he'd never felt a connection, never knew what it was like to truly feel what friendship or family or true love was like, at least not since the slaughter of his people. He felt lonely, but no matter how much he tried to fill the emptiness, no matter how many friends he made or wives he entranced or loyal nations he garnered, that emptiness still gripped him with a rope welded from a chrome digizoid harder to break than his very scales._

_That loneliness was now being made physical, tangible, as it transformed into a dark cave that sucked him and his very soul inside its aimless depths. Soon, he would disappear from this world and arrive on another as he sank down this black abyss._

_He tried to remember a time when he wasn't lonely. There had been the eons he spent with his family, of course, before they were taken from him. Then endless eons passed of endless solitude after their deaths. Then he'd met Lucemon, who swore to never leave him and whose allegiance he doubtlessly surrendered to. That was when he'd met the other Great Angel Lords, who helped numb the pain a little. But it wasn't enough._

_That was when Gennai introduced himself. "Hello there," the young man had said. He thought the young man looked awfully weird, he'd never seen a digimon quite like that before._

_Gennai was kind. The human-looking creature offered to play a game of chess. It ended in a tie. They promised to meet again in the future and parted ways. Sure enough, the next time they met, it was when Apocalymon attacked. He knew Gennai had been created for the specific purpose of combating this enemy, but it was not Gennai himself who had armed them with the tool to Apocalymon's destruction._

_That came in the form of human children. Foul-mouthed, silly, immature little creatures, he'd first thought. So filled with hope and love and understanding. Unable to think for themselves, carelessly naïve. How could they possess the power to defeat the Apocalypse Monster? AncientWisemon's records say Apocalymon will be beaten only by a girl with hair made of gold and eyes like a hawk's. One of the humans had taken on those attributes, and she was the next after Gennai who caught his attention._

"_You're a funny digimon," was the first thing she said to him. "How do you eat?"_

_She'd referred to his arms, which weren't so much arms but sterling silver blades with blue chrome digizoid outlining their innards. Silver emblems depicting Friendship were carved into the blue. At first, he wasn't sure whether or not to take offense— was she simply being facetious, or was she genuinely curious? With all these little brats running around, he couldn't be sure._

_When he harrumphed and turned to walk away, he felt her tiny human hands clasp around one of his, and her tiny, shy voice as she said, "I didn't mean to offend you... I'm sorry... I was just concerned, because that looks very, very, very frustrating. My name is Geneva. What's yours?"_

_It took a while, but after Geneva's endless questions, he had felt comfortable enough to ask some of his own about her. After some time, they got to know each other bit by bit. She spoke of home, of being an only child without any childhood neighborhood friends to call her own. She didn't have the greatest of relations with what little family she had, and was home-schooled so she never had the opportunity to meet any peers. In a way, though her loneliness was very different from his own, they found kindred spirits in each other. A solace._

_Geneva never felt rage or pity or hatred. She could not comprehend people who did. But when she heard the reason why he searched endlessly for MetalSeadramon, he had seen a spark within her he had never thought her capable of._

_It was a darkness, a fever-pitch wrath, which devoured them both into a black holocaust._

And it was this spark which he saw gleaming within Kari's eyes.

"That's it..." Dagomon said, a chuckle escaping between his lips. "That's the darkness I wanted to see!"

"That's right, come and get me!" Kari shouted, throwing out her hand. "_I'M NOT RUNNING FROM YOU ANYMORE._"

"Yes, don't flee! I want you right where you are!" Dagomon called, throwing out his tentacle. "THOUSAND WHIP!"

Thousands of whips and thousands of lightning bolts clashed in a cloud of blue crackling energy. Togemon and Valdurmon were thrown back by the pulse, scattering debris and shrapnel as their bodies hit the ruins behind them. Their human partners, for once, were able to withstand the wave until another vibration knocked them off their feet.

"FORBIDDEN TRIDENT!"

"You abducted me..." Kari began, her voice in a snarl, another flash of blue bolts illuminating her glare. The trident and bolt struck head-to-head, converging then smothering each other out. The trident, scorched and charred, disintegrated into ash that billowed through the gales of their attack force. Dagomon conjured another trident and thrashed it in her direction. "Your underlings tried to rape me..." Lightning and trident combusted in a flash of brilliant blue light. "_YOU TRIED TO MAKE ME YOUR QUEEN._"

Using both hands now, millions of lightning bolts bulldozed into Dagomon and sent him tilting back. Silent in response, he bolted in her direction, barreling dozens of tentacles. Kari snarled and ducked to the right, then slashed through the tentacles with barbed lances made of flickering light. Several more light blades burgeoned from her face and shoulders and arms, then skewered Dagomon's lifted arm. A second later, an attack hit from the opposite side and Kari flung back.

She crashed through several walls before righting herself, dust and gravel spewing from the ground beneath her skidding heels, and spat out blood. Without hesitation, she ran back into the fight, heels digging into his oncoming tentacles as she leaped up and ran along his arm. Thrusting her elbow back for momentum, her fist plowed into the digimon's face and sent him spiraling backwards as she back-flipped onto the ground and anchored her palms. A million more lightning bolts erupted beneath Dagomon, encasing him in the wildly gleaming light.

Yolei and Mimi flung their arms in front of their faces to block their eyes from the blinding flash.

As smoke heaved between his lips, Dagomon cackled. "Yes... this is why I love you, Kari Kamiya... this is why I called to you... her shadow, her memory. Do you think yourself special on your own merits? I will show you how truly generic you are without her soul inside you. I will show you why I settle for you. I will show you why you need her... why you need _me_."

"What are you talking...?" Kari did not have the chance to finish her question.

"THOUSAND WHIP."

More tentacles hurdled in her direction. Kari winced her eyes shut, ready for the attack, but it never came. _**SMACK**_. Instead, Mimi and Yolei blocked it and sent them rebounding back at Dagomon, pinning him to the last remaining chunk of a bank behind him.

Mimi and Yolei turned back to Kari with grins on their faces. "You're not alone," Yolei said. Mimi joined in, "Remember what we said? You don't have to fight alone. We're beside you now, as we always have been."

"This guy wanted to force babies on you! I wanna kick his ass just at the thought!"

Mimi grinned knowingly at her purple-haired friend's furor. "Time to kick some perverted, controlling ass. GIRL POWER!"

"HELL YEAH!" Yolei smashed her knuckles against Dagomon as he tried to regain his balance. He lost what little balance he had and fell back on his knees, grumbling. "FUCKA, BET YOU DON'T WANNA PLAY NO MORE, DO YA?"

_**BOOOOM**_

Both Yolei and Mimi punched him at the same time – Yolei with her fist, Mimi with a hammer that came out of nowhere – and sent him buckling.

At the same time, Valdurmon silently gathered energy for an attack as Togemon cried out, "NEEDLE SPRAY!"

Kari smiled. _I love my friends..._

Then, clapping her hands together, she summoned hundreds of more lightning bolts. She closed her eyes. Though her energy had been drained by the last onslaught of attacks – from both Lucesco and then as a virus – she still tapped into the endless well of power that rippled inside of her. _This is Enigma Evolution,_ she thought, _Stop allowing yourself limitation. Start believing anything is possible, even in the human world._

Her hair turned to lightning. Blue bolts circulating in the whites of her eyes, allowing only two small specks of black where her pupils were to remain. The dangling tentacles lining Dagomon's jaw quivered as he opened his mouth to gather energy for his own attack, watching the incoming attacks of Yolei, Mimi, and Togemon.

_I AM KARI KAMIYA,_ she thought, snapping her eyes open. _AND I _**AM**_ ENIGMA EVOLUTION._

Mimi and Yolei sensed the surge. With smiles, their enigmas – wind and nature – hurled from their hands, a surge in their own abilities.

Togemon glowed with a bristling green light.

(-'1020101201'-)

Mimi used to cry a lot. When her friend fought or someone died, she would always be the first to walk away with tears in her eyes. It was odd, she sometimes thought; at one time, she was the one who got in everyone's business, told which one in the argument was wrong (even if they were in the right), and laughed at funerals. She hadn't a care in the world. But that was before she met Palmon. That was before she befriended Sora and Izzy and Joe, before she followed the guidance of Tai and Matt, before she watched over little TK and Kari.

Now Mimi held an empathy she never thought herself capable of.

But even with all the empathy in the world, she could not find a single good thing about Dagomon. Brutish, ego-centric, mean, and sending his minions to mate with Kari against her will—

That was what pissed Mimi off the most.

"We could have been friends," Mimi told Dagomon, vines growing through her hand and caressing her face, her digivice pointing in Togemon's direction. "But you disgust me. Your evil is one of the grossest I have ever seen. And that's saying something, bub."

"Mimi..." Togemon whispered. "TOGEMON ENIGMA EVOLVE TO..."

Rather than try stopping it, Dagomon threw his head back in a bellow of laughter. "Evil...? You think this is evil...? This is nothing compared to what I will do to you now! I'm free of the Dark Ocean! I no longer dream in that sad sleepless state! I no longer hide in fear of the Council and their pets, I WILL NOT HOLD BACK! DAGOMON EVOLVE TO..."

As a green egg of light surrounded Togemon, a red, green, and black egg caged Dagomon. Mimi bit her bottom lip. Dagomon was digivolving, too? Despite their winning streak for the moment, Mimi couldn't deny that Dagomon was a formidable opponent even as a mere ultimate. But facing another mega?

_We have Valdurmon,_ Mimi thought with a nod. _And now we have my honey. My partner._

"YEAH!" Mimi shouted, cupping her hands in a funnel in front of her lips. "GO YOU, TOGEMON! Woot, woot! KICK SOME ASSSSS! Say HELL YEAH for mega digimon!"

"HELL YEAH!" shouted Yolei and Kari. Massive waves of wind and lightning hurled in Dagomon's direction, pressing against the egg, colliding with their other attacks.

"AURORA UNDULATION!" Valdurmon cried, shooting ten points of rainbow-flashing beams at Dagomon's egg.

"NOTHING CAN STOP US." At Mimi's hand, a sheet of acidic poison ballooned and popped beneath Dagomon.

As the four attacks rattled against Dagomon, Togemon's evolution egg began to crack. Within seconds, splinters scattered the ground and dissolved in a breeze of green data. There was a moment of silence as they all turned in Togemon's direction, only to be blinded by a cloud of green grass that shot to the sky. The long blades then jutted out in a spray of teeth and claws that ripped into the air, green swords that stabbed at their enemies.

"..._**MINERVAMON!**_"

And a small digimon – armored with a gold breastplate and skirt, flanked by a red and silver sword bigger than her entire body and a shield protruding outward like a drill – dashed out from the sharp metal grass. Teal braids of hair whipped around her smirking face as she aimed her blade – an emblem of two white and black snakes coiled around each other shining on the flat surface of it – straight at Dagomon's egg.

"STRIKE ROLL!"

As the blade hit ground, the sediment split open and created a crevice wide enough to submerge the egg whole. A green light shined out of the crack and hit the egg.

Just then, as the five attacks struck simultaneously, Dagomon finally began to emerge. His egg fissured, spraying shards in every direction. Seconds later, a massive snout emerged, followed by four legs and two twin tails. Scales made of glistening red chrome digizoid accompanied the green spikes lining his spine as eyes the color of dried blood opened.

"..._**Leviamon**_."

The creature was ten times the size of Minervamon's attack. All other attacks besides hers withered and died instantaneously. As he rolled out his tails, they knocked over endless buildings and sent them crashing to the ground. They extended to the end of the city until they unfurled into the ocean itself, his snout a third of his tails' size. Leviamon, perhaps the biggest digimon ever born – his size tethered to this world, his size _downgraded_ so that he did not crush Earth merely at his emergence – was face-to-face with Minervamon... perhaps one of the smallest human-shaped digimon ever born, a digimon who was not even big enough to be a tenth the size of Leviamon's eye.

(-'101020101'-)

Kari's knees crunched against the ground.

It wasn't the realization of Leviamon's mere size that made her tumble. It wasn't the rumbling ground that shook craters beneath her. It wasn't even to dodge his flailing tails that whipped in every direction.

It was the weight of his presence, filtering into her mind. Gripping at her eyes.

Three-fingered hands made of darkness reached out of the cracks in the earth. Each hand was split with calluses and decay, the foul smell of rot and blood filling the air. They grabbed at her hair and yanked her to the ground. Half-wincing, Kari snapped, "Geddoff me!" but they continued lashing out at her. She crumpled, a hand slashing at her arms and legs.

A corpse hurdled through the air and cracked against her face, knocking her several times over. As she rolled over, she saw it was Tai's. Looking back up at Leviamon, she saw his jaws snapping at the air and tearing Valdurmon's head from his shoulders. A paw the towering size of the Eiffel Tower crushed Minervamon and Mimi beneath its weight while Yolei's head flung off her own shoulders due to her connection with Valdurmon. A shadow emerged from the ground behind her and grabbed her by the shoulder, turning her so that she could face it— her _own_ shadow, smiling, as four heads sprouted from the shadow's shoulders.

"Don't you know, Kari?" her shadow asked, laughing. "This happens to everyone you love... and you can't stop it. Because you _don't want to_. Because you and I are the same."

Kari screamed as another head – identical to her own – jutted out of her _own_ shoulder. Its jaw unhinged, the head proceeded to open its fanged mouth and swallow Kari's head whole. A third head sprouted from her other shoulder and then devoured _that_ head whole.

With a grumble, a tear cleaved Kari's stomach in two. Fangs bloomed from the split seams of the rip and unfurled innards and intestines that wrapped around Davis's neck. Pulling him into the mouth that chomped down on his face, one of Kari's arms slashed outward, revealing frayed, decayed flesh that rippled along its surface and blackened her sinew down to the marrow of her bones. With her dead hand, the three-headed, cannibal Kari slashed TK down the vertical center.

Kari collapsed to her knees.

_This can't be happening..._

"Kari, what the heck are you doing?" came Yolei's voice. Kari looked up. Yolei's dismembered head raised an eyebrow at her.

Kari fumbled, bent over, and dry-heaved. Staring at a broken and crooked piece of metal from some unknown wreckage, her muscles stiffened. Her eyes widened. Then she chuckled.

"Keep your head on, Inoue." Kari laughed, holding her gut. She then fell on her side, cackling, holding her stomach.

Laughing and laughing and laughing.

"What are you talking about?" Yolei asked. The next time Kari looked up, Yolei's head was back on top of her shoulders, Valdurmon was still soaring in the sky, Mimi and Minervamon were throwing attack after attack at Leviamon, and Tai, TK, and Davis had disappeared in the dust of their own battles. Her shadow was behind her echoing her movements like it was supposed to.

But Kari kept laughing. "Haha... I'm going mad... seeing things that aren't... hahahahahah!"

The buildings and streets began to melt and pool around her body. The carcass of an unknown woman nearby craned her neck in Kari's direction and laughed with her.

Kari clasped her temples, laughing, her knees hugging her chest, her bangs entangling her fingers.

(-'1020110201'-)

Yolei opened her mouth to demand Kari stop acting like a weirdo when the only thing that came out between her lips was a snake. She blinked. "Wha ih 'eh...?"

Clumps of hair fluttered to the ground at her feet. Her body convulsed as she reached up and touched her bald head. Seconds later, as she took her hand away, she realized her gooey flesh was sticking to her hand. Yolei's skin was melting off the bone and bubbling down, down.

(-'10201020101'-)

In Mimi's world of madness, Joe told her she'd be doing the world a favor if she stuck a gun to her head and blew her brains out. And to prove him wrong, she did it. But when she was lying in her coffin, she realized no one came to her funeral... except herself, and even then, she sneered down at her own mutilated body in the coffin.

"That's what you get for being a self-conceited bitch," she told herself. "Welcome to Hell."

(-'1020110201'-)

Minervamon flipped through the air and landed on Valdurmon's back. The two digimon hovered before Leviamon's massive face, their eyes leering in the partners' and Kari's direction but unable to stop the insanity from taking over them. With a grunt, Minervamon turned in Leviamon's direction.

"Always a piece of work, aren't you?" she said. "But we aren't our partners... We know your tricks."

Leviamon's eyes narrowed into slits. With his world-swallowing, sallow lips with their black gums, he replied in a voice that caused half-collapsed buildings to tumble, "_**It is a shame that last we met, we were allies... and now you aim to destroy me.**_"

"Like the times, digimon change," Minervamon replied, her own voice a throb of thunder in the heavens. "And so do people, Leviamon. Like you."

Leviamon and Minervamon stared eye-to-eye for a couple of seconds, then he peeled back those lips into a rumble of laughter without quite opening his mouth.

"_**Touché...**_" he said, narrowing his eyes. "_**...old friend.**_"

"I don't even fully remember those times," Minervamon replied, looking at her hands. "I know I died. I know I was reborn and reconstructed. This isn't the final evolution I was meant for anymore. I know I was meant to have another mega evolution for this lifetime, that I probably never would have reached it until Mimi had long perished. In other words..." She looked back up at Leviamon. "I'm not the same digimon. I'm not your friend. And neither is Neptunemon or Mercurymon."

"_**I NEED NO FRIENDS!**_" And Leviamon lurched in their direction, his jowls open wide to swallow them both whole.


	29. I&XXIX: Never Forget

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Meant to Live" by Switchfoot, "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" by Florence and the Machine.

(-'010102000'-)

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXIX**

... Never Forget ...

_Anubismon had spent eons watching over the Dark Area. Everyday, he judged the soul of every dead digimon who came his way. If they were good, or if their purpose in destiny had not yet been fulfilled, he would restore their data into eggs. However, if they were evil, then Anubismon would encase the soul in the darkness, the rot, to suffer for all eternity until they repented for their sins._

_The World of Darkness was a dreadful place. Even Anubismon himself was unsure how it was created. The only thing he knew was that the Sovereign had created him by hand to watch over it, to keep it safe. The World of Darkness was to never be unleashed upon the Digital World or only havoc would follow, they told him. Even so, without Anubismon a seal would still be maintained. His only purpose was judging the dead._

_Sometimes a digimon would escape him. Sometimes he would misjudge a soul and recant his decision. Sometimes he was fooled by a clever digimon who looked to avoid death for all eternity._

_It was a lonely existence. Digimon came and went. He lived in solitude, judging the souls from on high, weighing their heart's truths. Whenever he thought he would have time to peek into the Digital World, he would discover another tough job to get done— a digimon trying to escape the World of Darkness to the Digital World, or a digimon falling into depression and sinking into the Dark Ocean by accident. These were the mistakes he needed to correct, and he was the only one who could._

_At least until he met Bastemon._

_Bastemon was still alive. It was, in fact, the first time he had ever met a living digimon, her soul fully intact to a body made of flesh and blood and data. He could feel the warmth radiating from her skin, the pressure of the air exhaling from her lungs. He watched her muscles ripple as she motioned delicately in his direction._

_There was only one portal connecting the Digital World and Earth. It was sealed by a gate made of chrome digizoid and a great metal bolt encased by seven crests. Those who wished to enter needed to answer Anubismon's riddles, and only then did he allow them admittance. It did not happen frequently, but occasionally there was a digimon strong enough to evade Anubismon's riddles and simply punch a hole between worlds. Only the strongest of digimon were able to enter the World of Darkness without dying upon entrance. None had come face-to-face with the god of death, for it was nearly impossible to find the gate itself, much less enter it._

_At least until now. _

_Giving Anubismon a toothy grin, the fierce lion goddess Bastemon answered his questions flawlessly and said, "Nice to meet you my dear, but if you don't mind I'll be taking back my beloved now."_

_With that, she strode past the jackal-headed digimon without a second glance. Gawking, Anubismon twisted around. "Wait, you can't go down there—" Anubismon warned her._

_She chuckled at him. "And why is that? I answered your riddles. I did not abuse your laws and enter it illegally. And I am strong enough to walk this world without losing my soul. Because you are a stupid, stupid fool, you have judged Junomon's soul irredeemable. It's not her fault Jupitermon is an ass. You are both god man digimon, why couldn't you go a little easy on her?"_

"_You may enter, but you may not guide any souls back to the Digital World," Anubismon continued. "The result would be catastrophic."_

"_Catastrophic my ass!" Bastemon cackled. "I will see Junomon again, and I will kiss her again, and I will retrieve her soul and we will pee on Jupitermon!"_

_Were all living digimon this arrogant and ridiculous? Anubismon gawked at her. She hesitated when she saw his expression. Her own softened. "You don't understand what it's like to lose someone you love, do you?"_

"_I have never loved someone," Anubismon replied with a stiff tone. "So no, I do not know this loss. But... I have witnessed loss many times, so perhaps I should be grateful."_

"_No." Her eyes seemed to darken somehow. She bowed her head, though her gaze remained pinpointed on his own. "Even if it breaks into a pain most unbearable, love is always worth the experience. To think... you have never even seen another digimon like yourself, have you? Alive, breathing?"_

"_No..."_

_Bastemon glanced in the gate's direction, then back at Anubismon. Carefully, she stepped forward and linked her fingers with his. "Come with me," she whispered. "Take a break, just for a day. I will show you the Digital World, then I will recover Junomon's soul. The Digital World and its inhabitants can be ugly. They can be pathetic and petty and stupid and incredibly chaotic, incredibly _evil,_ but... they can also be beautiful. Gorgeous, really. They can be selfless, peaceful; loving and affectionate and friendly and trustworthy. Courageous, pure, intelligent. Reliable, hopeful. I will show you the world you judge, I will show you love."_

_Anubismon was unsure at first, but eventually he relented. She did as she promised and showed him the Digital World and its people. She was a highly-regarded figure there, greatly adored by her people and followers. They welcomed Anubismon with open arms._

_After that point, Bastemon made frequent visits. She and Anubismon grew well acquainted. Though Bastemon had garnered multiple husbands over the years, the two found a love both unique and fascinating. Eventually she met a Pharaohmon who purified her data into Nefertimon, but she was still well-regarded. Eventually Nefertimon digivolved into Angewomon, and Angewomon into Ophanimon._

_And that was when Ophanimon introduced him to her new friends._

"_Guardian of souls, are you?" asked one of them, another angel-type digimon by the name of Seraphimon. "You can traverse the walls between dimensions?"_

"_Yes," he replied, bowing his head. He had not expected Ophanimon to return with six more digimon. She had never done so before in all the years they'd known each other._

"_How convenient," Seraphimon said back, though without a hint of malice. Instead, there was a smile in his voice._

_Anubismon would not meet Seraphimon again for many, many years. The next time they saw each other, although Seraphimon had a different appearance and demeanor, Anubismon knew who it was that entered the gate between the Digital World and World of Darkness._

"**Anubismon,"**_ Seraphimon began in a voice that rattled the very walls between time and space. _**"Ophanimon has been harmed. The Royal Knights are coming. I need your power. Leave this wretched place and join my side."**

_Ophanimon, in danger? But why? Who would hurt her? Though the questions were racing through his mind, Anubismon simply scrunched up his face and replied to the demonic creature standing before him. "How can I leave this place? Who else will judge the souls of the dead?"_

"**All digimon will be reborn unless permanently deleted,"**_ Seraphimon answered. _**"All digimon will have a second chance, third chance, fourth chance to right what went terribly wrong. Is it not a beautiful thought? And the permanently deleted digimon will arrive in the World of Darkness, they will have their chance as my nightmare legion!"**

"_I couldn't..." Anubismon said, his brow furrowing. "It would shift the balance. The Sovereign would destroy me."_

"**The Sovereign are the ones who put you here! They are the ones who have given you this lonely task, who have given you no solace for all your toil! And most of all... it is their fault Ophanimon hurts. They are the ones who have summoned the Royal Knights to kill her. They are the ones who will destroy the only thing in two worlds you have ever loved. So listen carefully. Join me. Leave this place forever.**

"**Fuck the Sovereign up."**

_Leave this place forever... Anubismon had never thought he would consider it. The only time he left the gate and World of Darkness was when Bastemon showed him the Digital World. But... if Ophanimon – that brilliant, beautiful digimon who had given him such new perspective on things he already thought he knew everything about – if she was in trouble, how could he remain in this lonely prison?_

_But his duties were much bigger than himself, much bigger than even Ophanimon. An entire world was resting on his shoulders to keep from descending into chaos. If every digimon was reborn, then even the evil digimon would have the chance to reconstruct their old plans._

_Unless most of them forgot their past lives when they were reborn..._

_Yes. Yes, that could be the perfect solution. And Anubismon would need not leave this throne forever; he could return eventually and judge the souls he did not have the chance to judge before. In the meantime, most digimon would forget their past lives. Only those of a strong mind would remember everything._

_But no... no, as much as he wanted to, how could he? It went against everything he knew was right deep inside his heart. "No, no..." Anubismon muttered, rubbing his brow in frustration._

_**RRRRRIIIIP**_

_Anubismon's back crashed against the metal gate. Blood gushing from the right side of his body, he slid down the metal, staining it scarlet. Half his world was filled with darkness as one of his eyes splattered against his face._

"_What did you do to me?" Anubismon whispered, glancing over to his shoulder where his arm had been dismembered and deleted. His leg was also gone, along with half his head and body._

"**I do not have any more time for your consent,"**_ Seraphimon replied. That was when Anubismon realized something: The creature standing before him was no angel, but a demon. _**"The Sovereign are no longer your god. _I _am."**

"DIGMON!" The digimon went limp against Cody's shoulder as Bagramon's palm clutched a hovering orb of tan-colored light. Cody glared up at him, holding Digmon steady. "What did you do to him?!"

"Don't you know who I am?" Bagramon asked, leaning over the small boy with a grin plastered over his face. With a gale, his elongated shadow convulsed and covered his body. Lurching out of his head in the shape of a jackal face, his thunderous voice barked, "**_I AM THE DIGIMON JUDGE_**."

Yanking both his elbows back, glowing spheres of light shot out of several nearby DemiDevimon, LadyDevimon, and Mephistomon who toppled over as their souls were ripped from their bodies. Bagramon juggled them between his two hands before tossing them into his mouth.

"DIGMON!" Cody screamed, reaching out for the sphere in Bagramon's hand, the sphere descending toward the fallen god's lips. "You can't... not him too!"

"_NO MORE DEAD FRIENDS._"

In a blur of yellow and green color, the tan sphere was snatched out of the air just an inch from Bagramon's mouth. As Bagramon swallowed the rest of the souls, he grunted and turned to who had interrupted his meal.

TK stood beside Cody, clutching the tan sphere of light in his hand, glaring at Bagramon. Without looking toward Cody, he said, "You and Digmon should relax for now. You've done well so far, Cody." Only then he turned to the smaller boy, whose eyes were glazed with tears. He reached up with fragile hands for the glowing orb in TK's hand. "Let Joe and me take care of the rest."

"I can't..." Cody whispered, bowing his head, holding the sphere in his hands. Digmon's soul... "You and Angemon are already badly injured."

"Just for a few minutes," TK replied in a soft voice. There was a roughness in his demeanor that hadn't yet translated to his words; he looked Bagramon in the eye.

"This is the digimon who killed Kari and Davis," he went on, his knuckles popping as his hands clenched into fists. "I don't care that he revived them. They still died. He experimented with their souls. Shards of them are missing, and I can't forgive that. I've made a promise to someone." His eyes narrowed. "His wrath is something I will deliver."

"Oh ho!" Bagramon chuckled. "The boy of hope taints to the boy of wrath... better be careful. You wouldn't want to fall like the morning star."

TK ignored the digimon's goading. "You call yourself the Digimon Judge?" he replied instead. "You think you deserve to sit on high and judge the souls before you? You think you deserve to decide who lives and dies? You, the biased and deceitful and imbalanced demon lord? There was a time I thought I deserved that as well... There was a time I thought all dark-aligned digimon deserved to be destroyed, that most if not all virus digimon were evil... Didn't matter who they were or what they did, just so long as I destroyed them for simply being what they were. Wasn't even worth it to try to help them through the pain.

"You went after Kari simply because she was the Destined of Light, not because of who she is or what she's done. Davis was simply caught in the crossfire and used for your purposes against his will, just like Kari. A true judge is unbiased, he doesn't ill-judge those who were victims of circumstance! That is the lesson I learned the hard way, and so will you! You, some asshat who thinks he knows everything but knows nothing, are not fit to be a judge!

"YOU ARE NOT THE DIGIMON JUDGE, _**YOU ARE A PUPPET.**_"

A flash of golden light burst from TK's hands. Bagramon flung into the wall behind him. Smoke and debris covered the road, chunks of concrete and crooked metal beams protruding from the sewers and Bagramon's bent limbs. The digimon grunted and stumbled to a stand, glancing along his arm where his blood was struggling to rip open his veins.

Bagramon then looked back at TK. His eyes narrowed. "Fancy trick. But you, paltry child, are not the first human to utilize the Enigma Evolution against me, and you will not be the last." His veins pulsated, throbbing, vessels swelling over skin as the brown, wiry strands of hair threading his head bristled. "A puppet... Yes, I am... but at least I know who is pulling my strings, which is more than you can say. EXTRADIMENSIONAL STORM!"

A black hole swallowed the sky above them. TK and Angemon stared into the blackness, unable to understand how it could exist. Then the dark arched down and convulsed against the ground surrounding them. Encircled, TK and Angemon glanced at each other before looking back at Bagramon, then Joe and Ikkakumon on Bagramon's opposite side. Soon the blackness had swallowed Bagramon, TK, Angemon, Joe, Ikkakumon, Cody, and Digmon's dispatched soul whole.

Bagramon laughed, holding his arms to the sky. "Angemon... yes... I will show you all... what happened to the _last_ angel digimon who crossed me!"

In a labyrinthine chain of electricity, lightning sheered the blackness and illuminated the shadows. High-pitched shrieks and wails echoed from the light, searing against TK's eardrums. With a wince, he looked away as souls erupted from the ground beneath him, clawing at his heels, pulling down his ankles. The beings trapped within Bagramon were begging to be released from their prison.

"I... I'm sinking!" Ikkakumon was trembling, trying to jerk his body out of the liquid darkness.

"Ikkakumon!" Joe reached out for him, his glasses dangling askew on the tip of his nose.

"Joe!" Ikkakumon called back.

Closing his eyes, Cody returned Digmon's soul to his body. Swiftly, Digmon de-digivolved back into Armadillomon and re-digivolved into Ankylomon. Looking in TK and Angemon's direction, he said, "TK! Let's DNA Digivolve before it's too late!"

"I... can't... move..." Angemon hissed between clenched teeth. His body had almost completely sunken beneath the surface with only his face and part of his right shoulder remaining. "Beneath this, there's nothing... just... cold... solid... It's..."

"Angemon!" TK shrieked, but to no avail.

"I'm sorry, TK..." Angemon whispered, closing his eyes. "There's nothing I can do."

"I will swallow their souls now!" Bagramon roared, the only creature who had not sunk. The blackness erupted around his body, the jackal head quivering with laughter atop his shoulders while his fetus-eyes gleamed blood red.

A gray light hovered in front of Ikkakumon's chest. Joe shivered, almost numb. Simultaneously, a yellow orb of light beamed from Angemon's ribs, and Ankylomon went limp once again as the tan sphere fluttered in front of him.

"NO!" TK screamed, limp against the solid darkness entwining his body. "No, take mine instead! Don't take Angemon from me!"

The next second TK opened his eyes, Bagramon's face was an inch from his own, his fangs clenched in a crescent grin. "Are you trying to make a Soul Contract with me, boy? Just like Kari and Davis... human souls may not be as easy to steal as digimon souls, but if you know which buttons to push..."

"Whatever, I'm not saying this to chit-chat!" TK barked back at him. "Get it over with, so Angemon can be returned to me!"

"Heh heh heh... as you wish." Claws jutted from Bagramon's hands and whistled against the wind as they lurched in TK's direction.

"TK!" Cody wailed.

_**GSH**_

But it wasn't TK who was stabbed by Bagramon.

It was Joe.

"JOE! What are you doing?!"

Joe went limp against the claws protruding from his sides. Heaving, clutching wearily at the blood trickling from them, he glanced back at the younger boy. "You are still... my responsibility... and I... will not be defeated like this!"

"What?" Bagramon's brow furrowed. "How did you escape the soul bind?"

"I AM NOT BOUND BY THE LAWS OF THIS WORLD!" Joe screamed back, punching his fist with all his might into Bagramon's arms.

Bagramon screamed as ice and steam hurled out of Joe's palms and coalesced both the digimon's arms. Then, swiftly, Joe punched them again, shattering them. Gray light shined around the eldest Destined boy.

Shoving his glasses back, Joe waved his arm. The blackness shattered like glass, releasing their prisoners from their dark confines. The hovering souls returned to their bodies, rejuvenating them for the moment. Joe's brow furrowed as he glanced at his own palm.

"So this is Enigma Evolution," Joe said more to himself. "To defy the laws of science, of logic. To do the impossible. How dangerous."

"Joe, this isn't the time to nit-pick!" Ikkakumon shouted, tumbling over.

"But this is _seriously_ dangerous," Joe replied, his brow furrowing. "Think of what could happen if Destined aren't bound by any rules... If we can bend any law in the world, even the Digital World's laws, it would be chaos. If we're not the only ones who can use this, but any Destined... Breathing in space without radiation poisoning, traveling between dimensions without the Sovereign's help... healing the sick and wounded without equipment, without time... conjuring food and liquids at a whim... destroying the world, creating a new world... holding a star in the palm of your hand..."

Cody looked up at Joe. "The power to bring back the dead..."

TK looked down at the ground. "The power to cut down enemies in an instant..."

"What if this power was put in the hands of someone corrupt?" Joe looked in Bagramon's direction, who chuckled darkly. Shadows swelled from the stubs in his shoulders and regenerated two new arms. "...What if this power led to one of _us_ growing corrupt...?"

"Yes," Bagramon continued chuckling, now throwing his head back in a bellow of laughter. "What if! Now stand back, you amateur! I have a contract to fulfill and you are not a part of it!"

"Like I'll listen to you!" Joe bellowed back, holding up an arm and blocking Bagramon's attack before flinging one of his own.

"SCARLET BLOODWINE!" In a flash of garnet red and ocean blue, Bagramon's and Joe's attacks collided.

Sparks and steam hissed as the blackness continued to melt away, revealing Odaiba's remnants behind their shadowy walls. Gritting his teeth, Joe took a step forward, flipping his other hand and sending another torrent of ice. Bagramon laughed. He, too, surged forward, blood-red light seething from his hands.

_I've always been the least aggressive Destined... always avoiding conflicts..._ Joe thought, blue and red lights flickering across his snarling expression. _But this time... this time..._

"_**YOU WILL NOT WIN!**_"

_This time, I will make YOU clench YOUR teeth!_

Joe plowed through the center of both attacks. Bagramon's attack seared into his skin and molted his cheeks, shredding bits of his shoulders and there was a sting in his side from when Bagramon stabbed him that had nearly sent him buckling to his knees as he rushed into battle, but none of that mattered now. All that mattered was hitting him. Was making Bagramon feel his error in looking down on the Destined, in thinking humans were weak.

Joe's knuckles planted themselves deep within Bagramon's jaw.

"How...?" Bagramon snarled as his massive body flipped through the air.

Jolts traveled down Bagramon's muscles. Spasms followed soon after before he fell limp to his knees, his eyes widening. "I can't move..." he muttered, then looked up at Joe. "What did you do to me?"

Joe smiled in the eerie vortex light. "Don't underestimated a good doctor."

_I'll leave that vague statement up to your imagination,_ Joe thought. _I don't think my stomach can take explaining the gruesome details. And I would really prefer not having a queasy stomach right now._

"Bastard," Bagramon growled, bending over to vomit pools of blood. Wiping his lips on his sleeve, he bent his lips into a grin. "But... not even this can stop an Endless One... It just _really pisses me off._"

_**GSH**_

He plunged his claws into Ikkakumon behind him. "IKKAKUMON!" Joe called, but Ikkakumon stumbled and pulled himself off of Bagramon's claws.

Stuttering, Ikkakumon looked down at his blood-stained fur and said, "Oops."

"I am going to make you suffer," Bagramon said, using his demon arm to grab his own chest. Popping his neck, electrical currents crackled along his wounds and restored them. "You are all still too weak. But give it a few years and you may be a threat... I should kill you here and now. Demon may not like it, but I have never really cared about what Demon may or may not like.

"I guess this is a fight between a doctor and a scientist," Bagramon continued, grinning and licking Ikkakumon's blood off his claws. "Let's see how our experimentation results, good doctor."

"Ikkakumon..." Joe's voice was hoarse as his knees slammed against the concrete at Ikkakumon's side. Blood was beginning to ink Joe's shirt in the same area Ikkakumon was stabbed in. His vision was blurring, but he still fought to stay conscious enough to help his partner. "Don't move, I'm going to try to heal this... Why didn't I bring any of my tools with me? Oh, I wish I had my tools! What can I use? All this shrapnel around here is too dirty... It may contaminate the wound... You could get an infection, and... Maybe my Enigma Evolution can conjure tools? Or maybe skip the doctor process and simply heal your injuries? Can I do that...?"

Joe was shaking terribly, but Ikkakumon simply laughed at his twitches. "Work your magic mojo, Joe. Heh. That sounds funny. Mojo Joe. Mojo jojo Joe. Mo..."

Ikkakumon's data flickered. Joe's vision dipped in and out of darkness. "Ikkakumon... Stay with me!"

"JOE, LOOK OUT!" screamed Angemon, but it was too late.

By the time Joe swerved, blood splattered his face.

But it wasn't his own blood that stained his skin.

(-10201022012-)

"Joe..."

There were two clattering sounds. One came from Joe's glasses as the blood whipped against his face. Another clatter came from a glass bottle hitting the ground. The bottle had heavy enough glass that it hadn't shattered, but instead skittered across the pavement.

Joe's eyes widened, face placid and sweaty, body stiff. He stared up at the one face he hadn't expected to see—it wasn't TK's, or Cody's, or even Ikkakumon's. Not one of the other main nine Destined, either. It was a sad face, though, and Joe could hardly recognize it through the veil of gore that hid it.

"Shuu?"

Joe meekly reached up to the figure standing in front of him, covered in blood. Bagramon's attack had lanced all the way through him—the fact that it hit the wrong target made the attack go berserk and hit the building a few yards behind Ikkakumon, who had also gained just enough strength to sit up and stare as Shuu fell to his knees.

"W—what are you doing here?" Joe asked, mustering just enough strength to reach forward and embrace his older brother.

"Shuu...?" said another voice not far from them. Joe glanced at the corner of his eye to see four figures in the near distance. Two were women he did not know very well, but he at least recognized them. The one who softly called Shuu's name was Jun, with her ash-ridden face and the smears on her clothes. The other woman was Momoe, who had clamped her hands to her lips at the sight of Shuu, tears in her eyes. The two remaining figures were their digimon partners, lingering beside them, the bigger of the two – Cyclonemon – struggling to rein in his lion friend, Firamon.

None of them were meant to be here.

Shuu's voice carried as he wore a tired smile and patted Joe's shoulder. Despite his voice, he looked as jubilant as ever. "We could see... the storm coming... We weren't that far away... and... I—saw you—and I had to do something... I couldn't let you face another enemy by yourself."

Shin was with him. Joe looked up just in time to see Shin's pale face staring down at the two of them with astonishment, unable to grasp the situation. Shuu's partner, Wingdramon, also stood beside Shin, stunned silent.

"Wait, wait, Shuu," Joe said, hands trembling. What was going on? This wasn't real. This really wasn't real. He'd fallen asleep studying for exams again, hadn't he? ...Hadn't he? That's right. He was supposed to take them tomorrow, and he stayed up late cramming. He had to study and get good grades on them—he just fell asleep.

"You're going to be a doctor, right?" Shuu said with a weak smile, pulling away from Joe. His brother suddenly felt heavier. He slowly laid Shuu on the ground and nodded, rubbing at his eyes.

_Pressure the wound._

He pressured the wound, stopping the blood. Shuu was still smiling, though he'd gone quite pale, himself.

_Stop the bleeding._

The bleeding wouldn't stop.

_Stop the bleeding._

But Shuu wouldn't quit bleeding.

_Stop the bleeding, Joe. You're a doctor, so **stop the bleeding.**_

The blood kept rushing out of him. And flowing. And flowing.

_Stop... just stop—_

"FIRA CLAW!" Firamon slashed at Bagramon to stop him from attacking Joe again.

"HAND of FATE!"

"TAIL HAMMER!"

Cyclonemon was the last to attack as his voice rumbled, "HYPER HEAT."

The four attacks struck Bagramon with brutal force.

_Blood's everywhere, Shuu... It's everywhere... I can't stop the bleeding... I—can't—_

"HAND of FATE!"

Bagramon's left ear caught on fire. He roared.

"FIRA CLAW!"

His hip was cut almost to the bone.

"TAIL HAMMER!"

More blood.

"HYPER HEAT."

More burns.

_I can't, Shuu—I'm just barely a doctor—barely certified—I can't—please—don't die—please, oh, God, please don't let him die—please—please, brother, don't die!_

Joe's body was able to sustain worse injuries because he was not a normal Destined. Unlike Shuu, he had activated the secret of the Enigma Evolution; his body could take the toll. It was not an immortal body, but it was built to last against multiple wounds that, if he _were_ normal, would have been fatal.

But Shuu was not like Joe.

"Shuu!" Jun knelt beside Joe, helping him pressure the wounds, eyes widening as more sweat formed on her face. She glanced at Joe, who didn't dare glance back. She then looked back at Shuu. Shuu's gaze lazily slid toward her and his smile widened.

"Jun..." he whispered. "You... look fabulous..."

She smiled, reaching forward to brush his cheek. "Shuu, come on, you have to sign my shirt. You can't give up, alright? Don't forget your dreams. Don't forget what you said, what we said we'd do..."

_You have so many dreams, Shuu! Always dreaming..._

"I'll sign it, Jun. I'll—" cough, hack, a laugh, "Just—gimme a minute, jeez, so impatient—"

_The blood. It's everywhere. I can't stop the bleeding, Shuu, I can't stop the bleeding, please please please **please**..._

Shuu cupped Jun's hand in his, brought it to his lips, and gently kissed her knuckles.

_You're dying,_ the logical part of Joe's brain said. _This isn't salvageable._

_My brother is going to die._

Shuu grabbed Joe's wrist with his free hand, entwined his brother's fingers with his, and weakly smiled.

"Never—forget—" Shuu said, speaking to Joe. So weak, so fragile. "—Your... dreams..."

_Please, Shuu! Brother! Big Brother! Oh God, don't let him die! Please! Not him! Please! **PLEASE**! We've had miracles before! Why can't we have one now? We've always pulled through in the end! We've always... had... a happy ending... together..._

"FIRA CLAW!"

"HAND of FATE!"

"TAIL HAMMER!"

"HYPER HEAT."

_Not now... please... not now... Not like this... I did everything I was supposed to do, I did everything I could! I'm a good person, I try to be at least! So why is this happening to him? Why is it my brother dying? No! He's not dying! He can't die!_

"Shuu," Jun said, tears in her eyes, running down her cheeks. She held his hand tightly with both hands and lightly reciprocated his knuckle-kisses with her own.

"Heh..." Shuu grinned bitterly. "Outta' all the ways to go, never thought it'd be an attack that wasn't even aimed at me... but I guess it'll do. Yeah..." He looked up at his brother and Jun, then his partner Wingdramon. "I guess I died pretty cool. Wouldn't you say...? Wouldn't you..." He bit his bottom lip, his smile vanishing.

"I don't want to die," he whispered, voice breaking. "I have dreams."

Shuu's stare fell void as it swerved above him to the heavens. Those Kido eyes widened for a second, pupils shrinking. Then—_no, no, nononono... not like this, don't die like this_—his eyes went half-lidded, his pupils dilated, his body

limp.

_Please... Shuu..._

Jun buried her face in Shuu's chest, forgetting about the blood caking his body, her arms clasping around him.

"Shuu! Shuu! Shuu!" she screamed. "_**SHUU!**_"

(-'1020102'-)

_Fireworks during a warm August festival. Blowing out lit candles on a birthday cake. It was a Saturday afternoon, after morning cartoons, when Shuu ran up to Joe with a big goofy smile on his chubby 13-year-old face. "Hey, open presents!"_

"_It's not time yet," Joe said with a hint of irritation. "Dad will get mad..."_

"_Oh quit worrying! You have your whole life to worry about what Dad thinks. Just open em!" Shuu said._

_Joe hesitated, but upon seeing Shuu's big dewy puppy-dog eyes, Joe could no longer resist the pile of presents laid out on the table opposite of his birthday cake. The small boy swiftly looked from side-to-side, reassuring himself that his parents were talking in the kitchen and Shin was off playing videogames in the living room, and reached for the first present. It was from Shin._

"_Do it! Do it!" Shuu chanted._

_Joe smiled and ripped the wrapping paper off, revealing a smooth white box. He popped it open to see inside of it a sterling silver watch, the first watch of this caliber he'd seen since his own father's pocketwatch. Joe's eyes bulged._

"_Shuu, you didn't steal this, did you?"_

_Shuu laughed. "No!" When Joe eyed him, Shuu waved his hands in front of his chest. "Seriously. Three months allowance money."_

_Joe looked back at his new watch, as the hand ticked closer and closer to the gray "12" at the top of the face. When he glanced back at Shuu, his older brother was giving him that big dopey grin all over again..._

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Joe was brought back from his thoughts by the sound of the watch his brother gave him. The time his brother gave him had ran out now, as the watch stopped and the hand hit "8:13".

"_Time to call it,"_ their father would say in the operating room.

"No," Joe said in a firm voice. He shoved Jun aside and placed his hands just above Shuu's sternum, below his ribs. Deep breath. 100 chest compression in one minute. Two minutes... 200 chest compressions...

"No, he's not dead."

"Joe," Jun whispered. By now, Cody and TK were running toward him, trying to ignore Bagramon's attacks, but they were just specks in the corner of his vision, hardly worth noting.

"Joe," Jun repeated, this time a little louder. She gently clasped his shoulder.

"No!" he snarled, wrenching his shoulder away from her, but the movement caused a disruption in his counting and he gave a strangled yelp. "Dammit, Motomiya!" he growled, then continued doing chest compressions.

"He's dead." Jun's voice broke.

100...

200...

300...

400...

Four minutes.

Four minutes without air, plus the three minutes from before...

Seven minutes total. Irreversible brain damage.

But still, Joe continued beating against Shuu's chest, his compressions digging a little harder with each count.

_But there could be a miracle,_ he thought. _It's happened before, right? Unexplainable occurrences. And I'm a Destined! They happen to us more than anyone! So I can save him... I can..._

Blood on Shuu's face, still dripping from his mouth and his wound. His dead eyes staring at the clouds in the sky. No pulse. No expression. Shuu wasn't making any sort of face. He wasn't wincing. He wasn't smiling. He wasn't joking around.

Shuu always joked around.

_My brother died._

_My brother died._

_My brother died._ Words repeating in an endless cycle inside his head. Jun's screams ringing in his ears, shrieks entwined with body-wracking sobs. He had to repeat it so he could remember, so he didn't continue trying to resuscitate him. _My brother died. This is bad. This is a bad thing happening to me. This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me._

_Shuu is dead._

_No._ Something broke the cycle. It broke the cycle, broke him inside. _My brother was murdered._

He swallowed.

_Don't forget your dreams._

Right.

Joe didn't know how. He didn't even realize he was doing it. But he stood, fists tightly balled. Clumps of blood-stained skin peeled beneath his nails.

Joe glanced to the broken glasses a few feet away from him. The shards were scattered everywhere, some even embedded into his cheek. He swiped away the shards with a single, careless movement, then turned back to Bagramon.

"Did I horrify you last time I attacked?" Joe asked, his brother's corpse limp beneath him. Raising his hands so he could crack his knuckles, Joe's voice rumbled like thunder as he said, "Was this the pain you promised you'd give me? Did that make you feel better?

"Enjoy it while it lasts... your horror, my pain, your petty satisfaction...

"Soon you won't feel anything."

Shivers rolled down TK and Cody's spines. Even Bagramon stiffened.

"Ikkakumon," Joe rumbled, not turning to face his injured digimon.

Ikkakumon had lowered his face to a dark glare as he, too, stared Bagramon in the eye. As his blood-stained fur crackled with gray energy, Ikkakumon said, "I can feel it... the dead souls want Bagramon's blood too... they're calling out, Joe. They have been judged by Bagramon, and now they say it's their turn to judge him."

The dreary, gray emblem of Reliability glowed across Joe's chest. He pointed his digivice in Ikkakumon's direction. "Then we will give the dead what they want," Joe replied. "Peace. Silence. And closure."

"The doctor is in," Ikkakumon chuckled darkly, glowing gray.

"Joe..." TK whispered. Cody watched silently. Then they, too, bowed their heads. The gold sign of Hope embellished itself across TK's chest. At the same time, the tan crests of Reliability and Knowledge illuminated Cody's heart. Angemon and Ankylomon, too, began to glow.

Chikara Hida... Devimon... Shuu Kido. They would not go unavenged.

"IKKAKUMON ENIGMA EVOLVE TO..."

"ANGEMON ENIGMA EVOLVE TO..."

"ANKYLOMON ENIGMA EVOLVE TO..."

(-'12030202'-)

_As darkness clutched at Shuu, he felt the cold curl around his heart. Jun's cries dimmed with the light, and soon he could no longer feel his brother's fingers twining his. As he floated in the endless black, he began to laugh, and laugh, and laugh._

"_Ohhh, maybe I've gone to Hell?" he said to no one in particular, looking deep into the black. "Why, this would be at least bearable if I had some brandy."_

"**Hell..."**_ rumbled a voice inside of him. _**"Not quite."**

"_Anywhere without brandy is Hell. Now..." His eyes narrowed until they were half-lidded. Like his eyelids, his voice lowered. "...Who's there?"_

"**Just a... _friend_, heh heh,"**_ the voice replied. _**"I thought I might be able to help you out."**

_A pair of red-glowing eyes manifested in the darkness, each eye at least tenfold Shuu's size. Shuu raised an eyebrow. "To trust a deep scary threatening voice or not to trust a deep scary threatening voice... Hmm, this is quite the difficult decision."_

"**Trust me or not, I am the only one who can save your life at this point,"**_ the creature continued, his eyes curling __into grins._

"**It might not be a pleasant ride... it may take years for me to find a suitable container for your soul... but you will live. C'mon, don't let your pride stop you! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Think of how _guilty_ Joe will feel over you giving your life to save him. Think of how erratic Shin has gotten the last six months and what your death will do to him. Think of how horny Jun is, hahahahah! But...**

"**...Most of all, think about yourself... and the lost opportunities... the dreams you will never accomplish... Let your Pride give you power, not disregard that power. Think real hard now, Kido.**

"**I'll even throw in a complimentary bottle of brandy. I see you've lost yours."**

_Shuu continued staring up at the disembodied eyes, listening to those eyes' disembodied voice. There was a warmth in his chest strangling the cold. It began as a spark, then rolled into a thunder-crack of heat that threatened to consume his entire body._

_Grinning, Shuu replied, "Alright, Mephistopheles. You got me at 'brandy'. I'll play your Faust. Just tell me where you want me."_

(-'10201010'-)

_My partner... my brother..._

His expression wiped clean, Shin fell to his knees. His arms were limp beside him. He felt the heat of his allies' attacks as they hurled at Bagramon, then saw the glow of their crests as eggs formed around each digimon except for Firamon and Cyclonemon. Distracting Bagramon while the other three digimon digivolved, the dancing light of the two digimon's attacks sent a dervish of heat sprinkling Shin's skin.

It was enough to briefly awaken him to the horror of Shuu's motionless body, his blank face. His eyes that were void of any emotion, of any life.

"No..." Shin hissed beneath his breath, grabbing his forehead, ducking his head. "No, no, _no_. You ass, why did you do that?!"

_But if he hadn't,_ Shin thought, looking back up at Joe, _Then you would be looking at Joe's corpse right now, wouldn't you?_

_Just one younger brother's life in exchange for the other. That's all this is. But Joe's the stronger one..._

A crippling sensation spread down Shin's arms and back, and though he tried to stand, he couldn't. Instead, he buckled over into a fetal position with his fists hugged to his chest, his eyes staring out at the fight. Unconsciously, his gaze moved in a direction he hadn't meant it to. He'd seen it out of the corner of his eye and his curiosity had gotten a hold of him.

It was Shuu's brandy bottle, laying unbroken on the ground.

"Shin," came a deep voice behind him. Without looking, Shin knew it came from Shuu's partner, Wingdramon. When Shin said nothing, Wingdramon continued, "Today we have both lost partners... so I will do everything in my power to protect you."

"No," Shin replied, taking up the brandy bottle and unsheathing the lid. "I only had one partner, and you will never be him."

He threw his head back to chug the entire half-bottle left of the newly-opened brandy bottle.

(-'102010201'-)

Simultaneously, the three enigma eggs exploded.

Ankylomon's went out with a tan flash of light and barrels of dust and volcanic ash that billowed to the sky. The concrete broke away into an endless canyon that enveloped half the surrounding buildings.

Angemon's was quieter, but no less powerful. With a gold wisp of smoke, glass shards hit the ground and melted into red spills of blood-like worms. The worms shivered, whined, and expanded in size until they were at least six feet long. With a roar, fangs tore through their thin, veiny exoskeleton, followed by webbed wings that jutted from their backs. Sinking their fangs into every Phantomon and Bakemon that came their way, Angemon's dragons devastated the enemy in seconds.

When Ikkakumon's gray egg broke, a massive deluge of water erupted from the cracks, forcing the egg open from the inside. Water flooded the streets, rising to knee-level before growing to their waists. Smoke and ice filled the air in a blizzard of hail and sleet that froze the oceans surrounding the enemies.

"..._**DYNASMON**_," cried a white, dragon-headed digimon where Ankylomon had stood seconds before.

"..._**GODDRAMON**_," roared a gold-skinned dragon that faintly resembled Magnadramon. Red and black vambraces gripped his wrists. He had at one time been Angemon.

"..._**NEPTUNEMON**_," bellowed who was once Ikkakumon, now in the body of a half-man half-sea-creature that was godly in size.

"My, my," Bagramon chanted as the three digimon revealed themselves. "The gang is almost all here. Well, at least the ones who can be. But you're not welcome." At this, his gaze landed on Dynasmon. "What will it take to get rid of you knights? Though I suppose I _should_ thank you for temporarily dismantling Lucemon, even if you fell to his seduction. It allowed him to be the last angel I faced. His soul was the most delicious I have ever consumed...

"But that's another story for another time. You shitheads better be ready to die."


	30. I&XXX: Homunculus of Fire

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "The Day The World Went Away" by Nine Inch Nails

(-'010102000'-)

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXX**

... Homunculus of Fire ...

"OUTTA MY WAY!" screamed a Phantomon as his scythe tore through crowds of Bakemon and DemiDevimon. Bakemon and DemiDevimon dissolved into data as the scythe hit, only for Phantomon himself to be struck by a laser shot. Phantomon flopped over on his stomach and, too, dissolved into data.

Shrieks filled the castle. Virus digimon scattered, trying desperately to find sanctum.

Mere moments ago, the palace within the Depths of Nowhere had been occupied by its four masters. Now, however, its halls had grown empty and hollow without the Endless Ones; though still filled with servants and caretakers and guards, its vacancy had left it a target for its greatest enemy. The strongest digimon guards, generals, and lieutenants had already departed for Earth and the Digital World.

Now what little manpower remained stood powerless against their foe.

"Wh—what are you doing here?" asked a quivering Roachmon. The surrounding windows which saw into the souls of all things quivered along with him.

The palace's attacker stared silently at the virus digimon for some time until he finally smiled. That only made the Roachmon more nervous.

"Me?" the attacker said with a pleasant, calm voice. Roachmon peered into the glass sphere that protected the figure's head from enemy fire. His body was encased by a metal shell that, in itself, was a metal organism known as a Mechanorimon. "I'm looking for the Mirror," the attacker replied. "You know which one."

"It—It's th—th—that way—" Roachmon pointed down the corridor. Black tiles glistened in the gray light, embroidered by red-stained walls constructed with charred skeletons and skulls. "It's the chamber on the right!"

The man inside Mechanorimon nodded. "Thank you!"

As man and mon walked past Roachmon, the digimon gained the courage to glance up from his crouched, hunched-over position against the nearest corner, and glared. "DREAM—" he began to call out, an attack edging his palms, but the Mechanorimon interrupted him.

"TWIN BEAM."

The shot cracked Roachmon's ribcage and shattered it in an instant; his data followed soon after.

Without turning around, Mechanorimon and the man inside him continued their journey through the palace. How many years had it been since he traveled these corridors? Not since Anubismon had fled the World of Darkness to join Demon's legions. Ever since, the walls between the Dark World and the Digital World had grown brittle. Now all it took to find the door here was intense negative emotions; when one grew void, a living but lifeless shell of who they once were, then they were granted access to the World of Darkness. Some areas were more likely to access the door than others, but without Anubismon to guard the gates between worlds, many more digimon had fled to the Dark World than in ancient times.

Gennai had hidden the Mirror here centuries ago. It was the one world left untouched by the Memory Destroyer, the one world she held no care for. It was here she would never think to look for it, here she would never tamper with its records.

At this point, the Mirror was the only way to warn the Destined of the coming dark days— no, dark _years_. Maybe even dark _decades_, if they failed to contact the World of Light.

They had no inkling of what they were up against. And just as Gennai had been their guardian during their earliest adventures, he would not allow them to face it alone. He could not be there for them against their first enemy. He had left them stranded and alone and confused on a world they didn't know, but he wouldn't allow that to happen again. Even if he could not be there in person with them, he could give them this— he could give them a chance.

His steps clanked against the tile as he approached the chamber. The walls wrinkled and shuddered as the castle identified Gennai's presence.

Ah... GranDracmon's Castle... Gennai had forgotten that the building itself was also a living being.

Creaking the steel door open, he peered into the chamber. Surely a mirror of such power would have guards as well.

And sure enough, he spotted three figures. Wisemon sat cross-legged atop his massive book, his hands outstretched to the ceiling. Pillars of yellow and red light crackled in his palms. On his right was a haggard-looking Myotismon, flanked by shackles and chains. His right arm and half his face were gone, obliterated by Devimon's crowning moment of destruction, made permanent by TK's blood manipulation. On Wisemon's left was a cyclopes Gennai had only seen once before eons ago during a period he hoped to never see returned.

Back then, Deathmon had turned almost as black as the night sky, but they were able to stop the rise of the Destruction God. That was what they said Deathmon became during Armageddon: that when Deathmon's skin tainted from white to black, it would be the end of days and he would transform into the God of Destruction. They had managed to suppress Deathmon's more destructive tendencies for centuries, but now the starch white of his pores had turned to a charcoal black.

All but his hands had turned into that dark color.

Suspended above the three guards was not only the Mirror, but the greatest horror yet. Without seeing what was inside it, Gennai could feel his creeping, crawling presence growing inside it. There, dangling from the ceiling, was a sallow, pulsing sack made of living tissue. Drowned blue veins the size of Gennai's fingers throbbed against the dim light reflecting off the mirror, beating to the silent rhythm of the beast's heart.

_So this is what the Endless Ones were planning..._ Gennai thought as he entered the chamber. The three guards, alerted to his presence, looked up with stunned glances. But Gennai hadn't paid them any heed. His attention was fastened on the breathing sack, which bobbed as if it could hear his breathing, as well.

_Or was it that He planned this all along, and the Endless Ones are merely playing along?_

"Gennai," Myotismon said with a half-grin. The other half of his grin was sheered off by his partly-missing head. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah, in a bit of a hurry," Gennai muttered, still entranced by the cocoon above their heads. "Not even Demon could destroy it, could he?"

At first, Myotismon did not understand Gennai's question. After a few seconds of consideration, he replied, "Demon... Dagomon... All four of them together..." Myotismon snickered. "If Demon and Dagomon are demons of sin, then the thing up there is a god of sin. Or maybe the Devil himself in data form."

"No," Gennai replied, walking up to the organic sack. "The Devil in data form is dead." He glanced in Myotismon's direction. "And you were the one who killed him. And you." Gennai turned his attention toward Wisemon. "You're gone to the madness, aren't you?"

Wisemon did not reply. He continued tapping into the mystical energy that oozed from the Necronomicon beneath him, allowing the split between dimensions. It was easy for one digimon to travel between dimensions – or, at least, digimon like Bagramon and Demon and Dianamon and Dagomon – but it was not so easy for entire hordes to go gallivanting between realms. Things of that sort took powerful instruments, powerful tools— things from ancient times that only now were becoming relevant again.

Centuries ago, the Council had rid the world of the Necronomicon and destroyed its writer so that this could not happen. But that was centuries ago, and no longer were digimon turned into mere souls when they descended into the World of Darkness. The writer of the Necronomicon had been reborn. Though at first forgetful of his origins, now those memories pored into his mind, trickling through his vision.

Wisemon had risen from the depths of despair.

And Dagomon had pushed him into the depths of insanity for it.

"Well then..." Gennai began, opening the sphere of Mechanorimon's hood and bolstering himself out. Swiping his hands together, he sighed, referring to the three surrounding entities that guarded not only the Mirror, but the living sack. "...It looks like I'll have to get serious now."

_They're guards alright,_ he thought. _They guard the Mirror from being stolen by me. Demon and Dagomon know me well enough to know I'll want it, and they can't have the Destined figuring it all out before their plan succeeds. I wish I knew what that plan is, but I don't. Izzy will be able to figure it out sooner or later if I can just get the Mirror to him in time._

_But they're not guarding this husk from me._

_They're guarding the _**world**_ from the _**husk**.

"As much sentimentality as there is between us," Gennai began, leaping out of Mechanorimon and landing beside him, "There is too much at stake for me to go easy on you. I hope you understand."

"You? Go easy on us?" Myotismon chuckled. "Stupid old fool! CRIMSON LIGHTNING."

_**CRACK**_

Gennai grabbed the whip with his bare hand and jerked it back. Myotismon fumbled.

What pleasant smile Gennai wore seconds before crinkled to a glare. "When facing Etemon and the Dark Masters, I was a man weakened by age and sickness and who could not do anything but offer moral support and a solid mind." The red-glowing whip dissolved into data against the tenure of his grip. "When you stepped forward, I was in another world." He spread his arms. "When the Kaiser threatened the Digital World, I was dissolving the Dark Spore in the back of my neck that had made me so incredibly old and sick to begin with. And now..." His palms glowed with molten heat. "...Now, I have nothing to hold me back."

"By all means, old friend," Myotismon spat. "GRISLY WING!"

Gennai slammed his hands together. Five more Gennai-lookalikes sprung from his body instantaneously – Benjamin, Jackie, Hogan, José, and Ilya – and thrust their palms toward Myotismon. Magma erupted from their bodies and struck Myotismon's bats full-force, incinerating them. The explosion ricocheted against the living walls of GranDracmon's palace and cremated them until they crumbled into ash and char.

"Mechanorimon," called Gennai's voice. The spewing magma illuminated his eyes, reflecting the dangerous stir in his chest. "Grab the Mirror. I will deal with these three."

Wisemon blocked Gennai's attack with a wave of his hand as Myotismon sent one of his own. "NIGHTMARE WAVE."

"NO YOU DON'T," Gennai called. José and Ilya fused into one giant-sized being and catapulted themselves in front of Gennai. Falling to their knees in shambles, the José-Ilya hybrid went limp, holding his head. Gennai, Benjamin, Jackie, and Hogan pushed past them. As Gennai brushed against the giant's shoulder, he reabsorbed them. Memories of their fears washed over him, but he continued anyway; he couldn't afford to hesitate, not even for a moment.

Gennai held out a hand. Jackie and Benjamin rushed Myotismon. Myotismon held up his arm to block their dual attacks as hot as a blue giant's crust. "GRISLY WING." Hogan redirected the oozing magma to consume the bats and wash over Myotismon. A spinning helix of heat tangled between Gennai's fingers before it manifested.

_Down in the lake drowns the flame wizard's heat,_ Gennai thought. _So that he will not burn the world beneath his feet._

It was the nursery rhyme Elecmon recited to the babies in Primary Village during the Golden Age. Little had those children known the nursery rhyme was woven to warn them against Gennai.

"DEAD SCREAM," Myotismon called, paralyzing Benjamin. Jackie upper-cut Myotismon into a wall that collapsed against the weight. Myotismon snarled, "You're both useless!" and waved his cape toward Deathmon and Wisemon. "GRISLY WING." His bats swarmed around Deathmon and Wisemon.

With a sucking sound, the Necronomicon devoured the bats aimed at Wisemon. The Wise Monster threw his head back in a laugh— the first sound he'd made all day. With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind struck Gennai in the chest and pushed him back. Still sitting atop his book, Wisemon's eyes glowed in the gray light, his hands working mercilessly back and forth, back and forth. Words Gennai couldn't grasp erupted around him.

_It's the Pandora Dialogue,_ Gennai thought just a second too late. Jackie's hands smashed against the soil and sent a torrent of white flame at Wisemon. "No, wait!"

The Necronomicon, too, devoured the flame, and spat it back out at Jackie at ten times its original velocity. When it struck Jackie, it tore him to smoldering bits and pieces.

Hogan was panting as he addressed Gennai. "Can we rest yet?"

"No rest for the wicked," Gennai replied, reabsorbing Jackie.

Ah... the ability which had allowed his people to multiply. At one time, they had been a vast organization filled to the brim with intelligent minds. They weren't all clones of Gennai – in fact, Gennai could not generate half as many clones as most his peers – but these five had stuck with him since ClavisAngemon and the Sovereign created him.

"Give it up, Gennai," Myotismon said, emerging from the debris. He stepped next to Deathmon, who hadn't lifted a finger to stop Gennai or crush the bats hovering over his head. He was a silent giant next to his anthropomorphic ally, who snickered. "You were a failure since the moment you breathed first and you will still be a failure when you breathe last," he said. "That's the downside of being a failed experiment. You can't even call yourself a real being. That's all you are— a Homunculus. A half-man. I'd call you a golem, but your stunning ability to fuck up your masters' intent gives you far too much free will for that term."

"Was that meant to be an insult?" Gennai chuckled. "No... You know what it's like now to be the master. Rebellious slaves are your greatest pet peeve, though you are one yourself.

"I'll show you my great failure, hypocrite..." Gennai's hands glowed a deep, flourishing shade of scarlet. "I'll show you what great, terrible failures this Homunculus can accomplish."

With a roar, the palace floor collapsed beneath Myotismon, Wisemon, and Deathmon's feet. An inferno of white heat exploded. Walls and shrapnel burst in every direction, half-melted half-charred before dissolving into popping glass and chinked ash. Myotismon snarled, his flesh bubbling, while Wisemon disappeared into his Necronomicon. Deathmon was the only digimon who was not effected by the heat; his response was null. The only thing Deathmon cared to do was glance up at the cocoon, who also had not been effected by the heat.

As Gennai bolted to the caved-in ceiling to escape alongside Mechanorimon, Myotismon laughed through his melting face. Opening his jowls wide, the vampire digimon cried out his final attack. "NIGHTMARE WAVE."

Hogan leaped in-between the attack and Gennai, but to no effect. Expecting it by now, Myotismon feigned the attack and immediately followed it up with an identical one. As Hogan collapsed and dissolved into data, the second Nightmare Wave flung past his astonished expression and struck its intended target.

Gennai flipped through the air, lashing out with all four limbs. Mechanorimon – gripping the Mirror in his iron-clad claws – managed to catch him just in time. Swiftly, the digimon escaped with both mirror and Gennai, not daring to glance toward the cackling Vampire King. Nightmare Wave— the attack which forces a person to witness their greatest nightmare over and over again until they break the brink of insanity.

"I may have failed to defeat you..." Myotismon muttered, stretching out his hand. With a single flick, he smothered the flames. "...But what I have done to you will be far worse than any death, Flame Homunculus."

(-'10102101'-)

As Gennai and Mechanorimon fled, he buckled over and cupped his mouth with his hand. _Too late..._ he thought, wincing one eye shut. He suppressed a grin. _This time, you were the failure, Myotismon..._

Taking the Mirror out of Mechanorimon's claws, the Mirror automatically shrunk until it was pocket-sized. Gennai sheathed it inside his robe with a clumsy movement, the darkness eating away at his vision. This wasn't good. He may have escaped with his intended target, but he was still badly injured and soon Myotismon's attack would, too, consume him.

_I'm sorry Hogan,_ he thought, squeezing his eyes shut. _I'm sorry Benjamin... I wasn't able to reabsorb you in time..._

His own personal golems... they had been there for him for ages, and now two of them were permanently gone to the world. But their deaths would not be taken for granted. Their deaths would be the foundation of the new world, the saved future. It was in the hands of the new Destined now, the generation which would set the path back on the right course.

Destiny had been defied once long ago. The Endless Ones had grasped the ability to defy it as well. And now, the Destined would find the opportunity to do the same.

Just then, Gennai collapsed again, his vision destroyed in an instant. He heard Mechanorimon's perfunctory voice mutter his name, but it fell on deaf ears.

The next sound he heard was Geneva's cackles as she was flung from the cliff and toward the beach below.

And soon Geneva's laughter was joined by the dying screams of Izzy, Tai, Matt, Sora, Joe, Mimi, TK, Kari, Davis, Yolei, Cody, and Ken as Gennai failed – just as he had failed with Geneva – to save them...

His greatest nightmare had finally come to greet him.


	31. I&XXXI: Falling Dragon, Rising Knight

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Rapture" by HURT, "No End, No Beginning" by Poets of the Fall

(-'010102000'-)

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXXI**

... Fall of the Dragon, Rise of the Knight ...

_Lilithmon was panting. Blood oozed from the gashes covering her body. A veil of scarlet had obscured half her face. But still, she was smirking, staring up at the behemoth before her. To think... seconds before, she'd been kissing that gorgeous Dianamon. But now Dianamon was gone, forced into the Dark Ocean by Lilithmon's own hand. Ahh...if only she'd gotten to kiss her just a little longer._

'I don't want her to die,'_ Lilithmon thought, clenching at the wound in her chest where her heart once was. '_I don't want anyone else to die!'

_The lighthouse above her head shined light out over the misty ocean. It glinted against the behemoth's off-white helmet. She wouldn't let him see her sweat, not after everything._

_Still grinning, she peered up at the Goliath._

"_Welcome..._

"_...Omegamon."_

"_Where did the huntress disappear to?" replied the behemoth._

_In her deep, mirthless voice, Lilithmon chuckled. "Now, now," she replied. "I think I'm far more than you can handle. PHANTOM PAIN."_

_A mist of dark energy sighed out of her body. It struck Omegamon in the face, causing him to flick backwards as his fingertips turned into a sickly, rusted shade of brown. The rot continued crawling up his hands and arms until it reached his shoulders. At this point, the tips of his armored boots began to decay as well. Gritting his teeth, Omegamon growled at the Demon Lord, "Looks like it's my turn to die now..."_

"_We will go together, lovely," Lilithmon said as her data wavered. Buckling over, she coughed up a clump of thick red blood. "But you will be the one to go first! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE UNDERESTIMATED ME, COCKROACH. NAZAR NAIL!"_

_Her claws whistled as they swung through the air. _**CRAAACK**_. Just as they struck their target, another sound met her ears in a phantom of movement. Lilithmon garbled something unintelligible and slumped over, her arm almost fully gutted through Omegamon's chest. Through her _own_ chest was the long tail of another— of a red-scaled creature behind her— who grunted disdainfully as he wrenched out his tail. A spatter of blood dotted the sand._

_As Lilithmon descended to the ground, she looked up to see who had attacked her... it wasn't Omegamon who managed to surprise her, who managed to stab her from behind._

_Ah yes... she knew this figure..._

_Now she could definitely die being grateful for sending Dianamon away. Split soul or not, Omegamon was a fearsome opponent by himself._

"_Hello, other lovely," Lilithmon whispered hoarsely as she struck the ground, reaching up for the mon who nabbed the penultimate hit of the Great Lust Lord._

"_I may not be able to kill you fully by myself," Omegamon muttered as he stumbled forward. His body continued rotting before his eyes, yet he didn't stop. He didn't hesitate. "But I am never by myself. People have given their lives to stop you, and I will be no different. Time and time again, Lilithmon, I will stop you, no matter what form I am in... no matter how many lives I live... no matter how many times Bagramon splits my soul and body... all my pieces will come together again, and they will always annihilate you!"_

"_Never by yourself...?" Lilithmon gave a gurgling chuckle. "You only won... because I was alone... Isn't that a great feeling, loneliness...? You'll know this feeling too... all by yourself... _geh hehh..._"_

_Examon, who had been the one to stab Lilithmon, stared sadly down at her dying form. "This is the end," he told her. With his final breath, Omegamon lifted his WarGreymon sword._

_Lilithmon could hear voices nearby. She was sure Demon was one of them. But he would be too late..._

_and yet all she could do was laugh, even as the blade lodged through her head._

(-'1020101201'-)

Dianamon was dripping wet when she spotted the six nearby Destined. Four of them were sprawled out, taken aback by the explosion that rattled the city streets. Matt and Sora were two of the four, trying to help the other stand but to no avail. Their partners were in just as much disarray as their humans, frantically trying to defend their partners but knowing they were sitting ducks in the eye of Dianamon's power.

Two of the six were still standing. Not in top shape, no, but standing. Waiting.

And Dianamon only needed to see one of them to feel the heat inside her chest. The water trickled down her chin and dropped to her feet. Her ears twitched. She could hear the ocean waves roll over the shores, their toxic waters tainted by blood and mayhem.

"You." Dianamon's lip wrinkled with her brow as her gaze landed on one of the few remaining figures not blown back by her descent. It was just the mon she wanted to see... In her heart's eye, she had witnessed her mistress's death, she watched the blade fall even though she had been in a different plane. The moon whispered it to her, told her all of the dirty little secrets she had blocked out in the Dark Ocean.

She wouldn't let the murmurs go silent now. Now she would let them tell her about the past she denied, and let it wash over her.

"AVALON'S—" Examon began, but a shriek interrupted him.

_**CRACK**_

Dianamon grabbed Examon by the throat. The dragon's eyes widened for a second. Dianamon's glare didn't relent. "_**I am a god,**_" she hissed at the creature. "**_Who the fuck do you think you are?_**"

"WE THINK WE'RE THE MOTHERFUCKING DESTINED!" _**WHAM**_ Dianamon flipped through the air as Tai's knuckles connected with her face. Tai landed back on the ground with catlike reflexes as Dianamon skidded across the gravel.

"ARROW OF ARTEMIS." Tai blocked the attack and punched the concrete. The floor broke away under her feet and attempted to swallow her whole, but she leaped out of the jaws of the ground and, with arms working at breakneck speed, fired off a volley of arrows.

Tai twisted and turned, shielding himself from the arrows he couldn't evade. Swiftly, he raised his arm and— _**SNAP**_, Dianamon's fist penetrated the soft tissue at the apex of his ribs and peeled back skin. Tai gritted his teeth in a snarl as he flung back, but Dianamon grabbed him by the shoulder and flung him into her upper-cut that sent him spiraling into Examon.

A cold fog misted the ground at their feet. Dianamon's eyes glowed an ocean-gray in the cloud, her shoulders hunched, her movements slick and smooth as she marched in their direction. The nearby shores rumbled with churning whirlpools and twisters; torrents rising a hundred feet high crashed upon the beach and splashed at their feet.

"You killed her... You killed my Lilly!" Dianamon said. The waters trembled. "..._I WILL HAVE JUSTICE._"

(-'102010201'-)

Tai winced, but didn't stop, not even for a second. Examon was the first back up. Flashes of dazzling red and blue light flashed across Tai's face as Examon and Dianamon clashed. Examon's tail thrust through a nearby dumpster truck and hurled it at Dianamon; she caught it by its bumper and twisted it around in a liquid movement that pelted it back at Examon. He halved it with his Ambrosius Lance and clawed at her in-between the two halves; she ducked backwards and kicked his jaw before twirling and landing back on her feet. Dozens of arrows flung from her arms and struck Examon's arms and thighs, but he continued rushing at her.

With a roar, a hundred lasers burst from his lance and erupted beneath Dianamon's feet; she blocked it with a hundred arrows and dug her fingernails into the ground. Ice ruptured under Examon and sent him soaring into the sky, where he caught his balance and hurdled back to the ground. The heated friction of his body meeting concrete melted the ice and punched Dianamon several yards back into the ocean. Fumbling to a stand atop the liquid surface, she clapped her hands together. A tsunami burst behind her and crashed against Examon, who dissipated the water with a thousand lasers before it could wash away the city.

"CRESCENT HOOK."

The attack struck Examon with back-flipping force. He landed hard on his tailbone after skidding, his fangs clenched. "EXAMON—" Tai cried out, but it was too late. Examon's trembling hands reached up and began clawing at his own chest and face.

"Wha..." Tai's knees wobbled. "What did you do to him?"

The mist settled at Dianamon's feet as she strode in Examon's direction. "Perhaps the greatest revenge is letting him destroy himself..." Dianamon snarled. "After all, the only one who deserves the final blow is the mistress. Where is she?" Her eyes narrowed when Examon answered with a howl as he launched his Ambrosius Lance into his own ribcage. Tai buckled over and vomited blood as the blade sunk in past Examon's scales. "Where is Lilithmon?"

"Lilithmon?" Examon asked with a glare. "Who is...?"

Then his pupils shrunk. A distant memory from beyond the haze rented the barrier between past and present, making its way to a soul that shuddered. Suddenly, Examon remembered her, her face, her eyes. Her laugh and the silly things she did to make other people laugh and do silly things. Lilithmon... Then as soon as they came, the memories faded like a far off dream.

Examon bit down on his tongue to stop his arm from ripping off his leg. _It's no use..._ he thought, shredding his hip. _I'm gonna tear myself to shreds!_

"I know she's here!" Dianamon barked, her heel crunching against Examon's face. Tai buckled over, holding the bruise. Examon cried out his name. "I feel her in the air, boy... I feel her crying my name... I feel her crying yours! NOW TELL ME WHERE SHE IS."

_**CRUNCH**_

Instead of hitting Examon this time, her foot landed firmly in Tai's face. Tai hurdled through the air as he took the hit for Examon, his bruised and bloody body broken by the impact. Slowly, his wounds began regenerating— but it couldn't regenerate _Examon's_ wounds, no matter how hard he tried. He'd already tapped into the Enigma Evolution once... how could he do it again to heal his partner's wounds?

"I won't..." Tai panted, anchoring himself before trying to stand.

"Taichi!" Examon called his full name, but he couldn't find the strength to hold back his partner. "Please... just run away... don't let her hurt you, too!"

"Don't you know by now? After all these years... even without the Enigma Evolution..." Tai gave a battered smile through his swollen lips. "Your pain is mine. I won't let her do this... I won't let her kill you!"

"You remind me of someone I once knew," Dianamon said, staring at Tai, her eyes falling half-lidded. "I watched you from the heavens as you saved your sister. You did everything in your power to cure her, to help her through the pain and tragedy and hurt, even if it meant sacrificing your own life.

"I had a brother once. I wish I could have helped him, saved him like you saved her. But our sacrifice was for nothing. ARROW OF ARTEMIS."

The arrow plunged through Tai's chest, splintering his breast plate and crushing his lungs. The force of the arrow protruding through bone forced him several paces back into the collapsed remains of a townhome, which exploded in a flurry of dust and debris.

In that instant, Dianamon had looked like Kari. Just for an instant. Tai had seen his sister's chaotic face reflecting in the wide-eyed, crazed expression which swallowed Dianamon whole.

There was a moment when Tai was brought back to that instant not too long ago, with Kari shredding his insides apart, with the harpoon that plunged through him. He saw his sister's fanged expression, her foul laughter as she assessed a twisted, rotted truth. He saw her dismembered head floating in the reverie of her soul, where she was unable to believe in him and the people who loved her most.

Tai went numb. His head hit the pavement.

He was stuck in a moment of time, unable to escape.

Not even Matt's voice could jerk him out of that memory.

(-'10210101'-)

"Tai! Tai! TAI!" Matt's voice grew hoarse. Examon had been consumed by Dianamon's attack and continued ripping himself apart. With a growl, Garurumon lifted a two-by-four chunk of wall and clobbered Examon in the head with it with just enough strength to temporarily knock him out, hoping to Azulongmon and all the digital gods ever named that the poor mega digimon would not get brain damage.

"Matt, we have to help him..." Sora whispered, her voice breaking. She looked down at her hands. Tai was her best friend...

Matt thought about their adventures together all those years ago. There were times when he thought he hated Tai, moments when he thought Tai was his biggest enemy. There were moments he considered Tai worse than Etemon and Devimon and Piemon, because Tai was not evil. Tai wasn't someone Matt could easily write off as a terrible person they needed to kill for the sake of the worlds; if he hated Tai, then there was something seriously wrong with Matt— at least, that was what he thought. That was why Tai was worse to him, because Matt didn't know how to deal with him or how others treated him.

Tai was friends with everyone in the group, even TK. And even Mimi! If Mimi and Tai, the most self-absorbed members of their group, could find reasons to bond, how could Matt despise Tai so much? Sometimes Matt thought Tai made a better brother to TK than Matt did, and TK was so fond of him... The fact that Tai had always managed to accomplish higher honors before Matt had never helped with that, either. He accomplished evolutions first. He mapped out strategies and plans quicker. He was stronger. He was friendlier. He knew how to communicate his feelings and he was never afraid of what other people thought, because he knew who he was and never questioned it.

But then there were other times... times when Matt thought Tai was the only friend he had. Times when Tai was the only one there for him. Times when Tai was the only one who could snap Matt back to reality.

Tai was Matt's best friend, too.

_I know he's angry with me,_ Matt thought, looking into Sora's eyes. _I know he wouldn't want me to save him._ He then looked back at Garurumon. _But I also know he's the same way I am, at least in this area._

_He makes me envious, and I challenge his pride. But we are the best of friends, even when we fight._

_And now he needs me to be the one to punch him... again._

"Garurumon," Matt said, holding up his hand. His digivice manifested from the darkness and took shape, spluttering with a blue light.

Garurumon nodded. "Agreed."

That same blue light illuminated Garurumon's body. "GARURUMON ENIGMA EVOLVE TO..."

The light solidified into a spherical shell encasing the wolf-like digimon. Within seconds, the egg broke away and transformed into...

"..._**MERCURYMON**_..."

But neither Matt or Sora had a chance to see what Matt's new partner looked like. In a flash of movement, Dianamon was knocked to the side before she could impale Tai, flipping through the air. Seconds later, points of light exploded around her, forming another shell around her body as she flopped around. Landing hard on the ground with a smoking thud, she grunted and looked up to see her assailant.

He didn't give her the chance.

She rolled over several times at the force of his leg. With a grunt, Dianamon flung a volley of ice arrows around her in a protective barrier. The only reaction to her attack she saw was a splash of blood, but seconds later the digimon had knocked aside the arrows and punched her in the face.

"Geh..." Dianamon grinned. "I know this shitbag... I've seen you before... You stole my twin's cattlemon, you ass. But don't think speed alone can save you, pretty. I know your tricks."

Smashing her palms into the ground, the sewers erupted. Fluids rushed between the cracks in the ground and flung themselves all around Dianamon. With another wave, the ocean fled over the beach and caged her. As the digimon flung in her direction, he could not stop himself in time before entering the liquid.

"Gotcha," she growled.

The water had immensely slowed down his movements.

"IT'S GOD AGAINST GOD," she howled, crystallizing the water around his slowed form until he was trapped in a glacier of ice. "AND YOU ARE NO CHALLENGE."

Matt's jaw dropped. He hadn't even had a single moment to see what Mercurymon looked like— the second he got out of that egg, he'd managed to beat Dianamon to a bloody pulp, only to get trapped in a ice barrier. But it was no matter...

All he'd have to do was break the ice. And if there was one thing Matt knew he could do, it was metal... and metal was good against hard things.

Forming a drill out of stray car parts and abandoned debris, Matt thrust the drill into the glacier trapping Mercurymon. Sora was behind him, her eyes glowing red, her hands eclipsed by shadows. He had the bleak feeling that she was communicating with Mercurymon through his own shadow...

"Ohhh... you pretty, pretty thing," said a voice behind him. He whirled around just in time to catch a sock in the gut. He felt as though his intestines had shattered in their fragile marrow trappings. Dianamon's voice followed, "You think you have a chance against me. It's a beautiful ideal. Continue carrying that hope in your heart, even as I watch the light flee from your eyes."

Matt flung against the glacier. Looking up into the glowing ocean-gray eyes Dianamon possessed, he felt his heart rattle against his ribcage.

The next thing he saw was Dianamon's knuckles renting the air as they launched toward his face.

(-102029102-)

_**SMASH**_

Matt's head crunched against the glacier in a bloody mist. His ears whirring, he managed to get up his arms in time to block another punch, only to be caught off-guard by a sock to the gut. Ice fringed Dianamon's knuckles, freezing his stomach until he buckled over. _**CRACK**_. Her kneecap popped against his forehead, bringing his hands to his face as his vision hazed.

_What...? What's going on...?_ he thought blearily as he stared down at his trembling hands. _I can't do anything... I'm weak..._

_If only I could be as strong as Tai..._

"I won't kill you," came a whisper. Warm breath tickled Matt's ear as he peered into the ocean-gray depths of Dianamon's slanted eyes. "You're too important to the big picture... but your partner is another story. Ugly digimon slaves are expendable, and all you really need is his data anyway."

"Gabumon isn't a slave, and he's anything but expendable!" Matt took a dizzy swing at her. She easily ducked to the side with a snicker.

"So cute, so cute!" Dianamon caught his next swing and twisted his elbow until he sunk to his knees, grimacing. "You're like a finicky kitten! First they want on your lap, then they struggle to get out of your embrace! You come at me, but when I give you what you came for—" _**CRACK**_ His back smashed against the glacier "—You get all squirmy. Wriggly lil mess! So cute, so cute! I suppose I should let you go, though... It's not very nice to hold kittens against their will."

"Well aren't you amiable?" Matt muttered through gritting teeth. The stinging gash rippling alongside his head pulsed with blood. He stumbled, trying to get a hold of himself, but couldn't. With a growl, he swung again, but not toward Dianamon; his fist connected with the glacier. Ten tons of metal jutted out of his knuckles and drilled through the layers of ice, cracking it down the middle.

Dianamon blinked. "Ooooo... Ironman!" With a snap of her fingers, the cracks disappeared, sealed by new arctic layers. "I remember Enigma Evolution being stronger than this... Hmmmmmm... this just won't do, it won't do! Peach will be very upset, very, very! Dianamon is upset, too... Dianamon is _disappointed!_ But you can re-appoint her, yes you can. You can tell her what she wants to know."

_**CRACK**_ Her palm smashed against the glacier an inch from his head. Matt was still staring at the ice, his brow furrowed into a marblesque glare, his nose wrinkled. All that work... Everything he put into saving his digimon, into protecting Tai and Examon...

He could feel the chill of Dianamon's skin oozing against his back.

"I don't know who Lilithmon is," Matt replied, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

"You know Lilithmon very very very well, my dear, sweet boy!" _**CRACKRACKCRACK**_ Her palm continued smashing against the ice until chinks exploded against the force. It clashed against the serene smile on her face, the girlish tone of her voice. "I want her! Where did my lovely Lilly go? She must have missed me these years she didn't remember me... deep down, I could hear her cries... I could see her face in the moon every time I looked up... the Goddess of Darkness, the Lord of Love, Carrier of Light! You know who she is... You saw her rise and writhe and fall like the morning star... WHERE IS BASTEMON?"

"Baste...?" Matt wasn't able to finish before Dianamon's knuckles next smashed into him, toppling him several feet over to the side. He felt his cheekbone snap from the collision and send him spiraling, spiraling out of control. _Not enough power... Not enough!_

"I will have her back..." Dianamon muttered, rolling Matt over onto his back and straddling his hips. Clenching her hands around his neck, she strangled him. "_**YA HEAR ME, DESTINED? YOU WON'T HOLD ME BACK ANYMORE!**_"

_**CRRRAAAAACK**_

Dianamon lobbed through the air as a fireball akin to an iron cannon smashed into her with brutal force. She hit the ground and rolled, smoking, her teeth clenched in a glare as she whirled around to see her assailant.

Sora stepped in front of Matt, Birdramon's one-winged form billowing in the wind, glaring down at the Goddess of Moons. As Matt peered up at Sora, he murmured something unintelligible and clenched his eyes shut, feeling the darkness ebb at his vision. She craned her neck so that he could see half her face when he opened his eyes, her lips curled in a warm smile.

"Sorry to make you wait, Ishida," she said with a soft voice. "I was letting Mercurymon know it wasn't over yet. But I'm here now."

"Sora—" Matt began, attempting to sit up. Ropes curled around his wrists and ankles. With a blink, he looked down to see restraints made of shadow binding him to the road.

"You're having a concussion," Sora replied, turning back to Dianamon. "Joe will be most displeased with you."

"Sora!"

Dianamon was getting up now. She glared up at Sora. "You little bitch... I'll hang you by your boobs..."

Sora smirked.

"Wipe that shit-eating grin off your face," Dianamon snarled. "I'll start by ripping off your other arm. Then you won't look like such a pirate anymore. Heh, you even have a parrot. Then I'll use your arm as a lamp in Demon's room. _Our_ room. Make your flesh a mural on our wall!"

Sora's smirk didn't waver.

Dianamon actually threw her head back in a laugh. "It won't smell very pleasant! Guess I'll have to skin a new human every once in awhile to replace you, but hey, who's complaining?"

"Ohhh... I dunno," Sora replied, scratching her chin. "Maybe, say, the people you kill?"

"Maybe, say, your mother." Dianamon strode in Sora's direction. "Maybe, oh say, I'll start with her. Then I'll skin your father. Then I'll skin your _**real**_ father."

Sora's smirk vanished. That only provoked Dianamon further as she rushed in Sora's direction, dodging fireballs from Birdramon, tossing spheres of sparkling ice that shattered at Sora's feet as her shadows played Trojan Wall to protect her. "What do you know about that?" Sora demanded.

"Well... Demon and Lilithmon wouldn't like it so much if I skinned that guy," Dianamon continued as if Sora hadn't said a thing. She sighed. "I just said that because it sounded cool. Truth is, I couldn't skin him even if I was allowed to! He'll be here... with us one day... watching the sky rain blood... tainting this world to a scarlet hue." She caught Sora's fist in her hand. "Your father and I... we go waaaay back, Ms. Takenouchi. And like me, his favorite color is the stuff coating your insides. Show me that color. I want to see it."

_**SPLASH**_

Dianamon's claws slashed into Sora's stomach, flinging her back against the ground. Sora coughed, holding her wounds where blood poured between the tears in her skin. With a shaking hand, she tried to get a hold of her patience and regain the upper-hand, but she was quickly losing herself to the shadows that plagued her thoughts.

"Sora!" Matt screamed, struggling against the restraints she put on him. She couldn't loosen them now... she couldn't let him get involved... Not like this.

Birdramon fired off several more shots. Dianamon sighed and blocked them with a single hand, then fired off several arrows that plunged through Birdramon's shoulder, remaining wing, and hip. Sora plunged to the ground, bleeding further, her body decaying under the weight of Birdramon's wounds.

"Such a pretty color... red..." Dianamon lifted Sora by her hair. "What's your favorite color, lovely? Your Crest was Love, when you were useful... Love, depicted by red. Maybe we have something in common."

"Favorite... color..." Sora grit her teeth. She couldn't show Dianamon her pain; she wouldn't resist, she wouldn't scream, she wouldn't cry. Instead, she managed to pull her lips back into the same shit-eating smirk Dianamon hated so much. "Yellow."

"Ew!" She tossed Sora against Matt. "_Yellow?_ Yellow's gross. The Sun is yellow, you know, and that can't be good. Do you know the Sun gives you skin cancer? The Moon's better, bitch!"

_**SMASH**_ She kicked Sora across the ground.

Sora laughed through the pain. She could taste liquid metal in her mouth, but she was sure it was blood. "I'm a _one-armed pirate_ bitch, get it right."

"You're a one-armed _pigeon_!"

"Pigeons don't have arms, dumbass." _**SMASH**_

Sora hit against Matt's side again. Dianamon back-flipped several times as Birdramon slung fireball after fireball at her. In the brief moment of peace, Sora rolled over on top of Matt, who was quickly losing consciousness. Smiling sadly, she reached up and delicately brushed his cheek with the back of her hand.

His skin felt warm as opposed to Dianamon's chill. "Always getting in trouble, aren't you?" Sora asked him with a bitter chuckle. Tears filled his eyes. "And somebody's always gotta tell you that you never have to fight alone..."

"But you're the one fighting alone now," he whispered.

Sora leaned her forehead against his and clenched her eyes shut. "All your life, you've felt alone, as if no one could understand you. At first, even I didn't understand you... not until that incident all those years ago, when we were in the Digital World."

"Sora—"

"Shh." She kissed him. "And then... Then, Matt Ishida, you realized there was someone in the world who felt just as alone and confused and afraid and... and in the dark as you did."

Sora's voice pierced the sky as an arrow struck her between the shoulder blades. She half-buckled over, her teeth clenching as she shielded Matt from the volley of icy arrows that Dianamon threw at them. Matt screamed her name, struggling against the shadows but to no avail. Through the blood, through the tears, through the pain, Sora continued smiling at him, her body shaking.

"I won't..." she started. _**SPLASH.**_ The arrows struck. She grit her teeth. "...let her..." **_SPLASH_**. "...hurt you!"

Birdramon glowed a deep, lush red that flowed out of her eyes and through her tongue and bled into the very soil. Sora bowed her head against Matt's chest, fingers digging into the ground. _**SPLASH.**_

"_**SORAAAAA!**_" Matt screamed.

"When we were little kids..." she continued, shielding him from another onslaught of attacks. "You helped me..." A red egg formed around Birdramon. "I was in that cave, that endless darkness... I had never felt such a darkness inside me before... but knowing you had been there... knowing you had gone through the same thing... and through the encouragement of you and Joe... you believed in me! You helped me realize my own strength! Now this time... just this once... let me save you...

"Let me be the one to lead you out of the dark!"

Arrows jutting out of her arms, legs, stomach, chest, back— Sora rushed into the fray, clawing through the darkness, slashing at Dianamon with talons of shadow.

"_**BIRDRAMON ENIGMA EVOLVE TO...**_"

The egg shattered in a pillar of red light and rose-smelling smoke.

"_**CRUSADERMON!**_"

The pink-armored knight emerged from the smoke and plunged a fist into the ground in-between Sora and Dianamon. Sora wavered, bleeding; but she could feel the Enigma Evolution washing over her, entwining with her thoughts, pulling at her heart. She could see the visions, the stars; she knew the past, the present, the future, the parallel worlds where things were not meant to be. She did not understand it, but she knew it; and with every vestige of strength, she turned in Dianamon's direction.

The Crest of Love blazed a trail across the center of her chest.

"I don't care who you think you are..." Sora snarled at Dianamon. "Digimon..." She pointed at the creature. "Endless One..." The shadows spiraled at the tip. "_Goddess_..." The drill of shadows surged forward. "_**I WILL DESTROY YOU!**_"

"_**ARGENT FIRE!**_" Crusadermon screamed.

"_**ARROW OF ARTEMIS!**_"

The fire and shadows clashed against the ice in a brilliant flash of red, black, blue, and white. Sparks crescendoed to the ground in a cacophonous swell, rattling the soil, toppling buildings. As Dianamon fired arrow after arrow, she summoned the ocean waves; Crusadermon redirected her attack with a flaming shockwave that dissipated the waters and split them down the middle. Sora checkered the arrows and brought her hands to the sky, where the darkness itself hurdled from the vortex and struck ground at Dianamon's feet. She flung back against the glacier, cracking it; seconds later, Crusadermon pelted her attack against the glacier and Dianamon both, shattering the ice, melting the crystals.

At that moment, Examon shifted awake, Tai beside him. He looked up just in time to see Sora and Crusadermon zoom around Dianamon, slashing at her. Ribbons of pink and ribbons of shadow lashed against Dianamon's skin, throwing her through buildings, spewing fountains of blood and water.

Tai's eyes widened. Matt was beside him, stunned speechless.

Mercurymon, released from his prison, joined Crusadermon and Sora in pelting Dianamon with slashing attacks. They couldn't see him, but they could feel the wind shift against his speed; quicker than the eye could see.

But his speed was nothing in the eye of Sora and Crusadermon's combined power.

And for a second... just one second... both boys saw a flash of something neither expected.

Sora was smiling.

"She's enjoying herself, isn't she?" Tai muttered in a groggy voice, clamping his hand to his forehead.

Matt blinked in his direction. "Good morning, sweetheart."

"Shut-up, Matt..."

The two best friends silently watched Sora. Then Matt smiled fondly – sadly, but fondly – and said, "...I love her."

Tai looked at him for a while, then replied. "I know." He gave a half-bitter chuckle. "Remember that one time I threw up in her hat?"

Matt snickered. "Who could forget? Didn't hear the end of it for, what, two weeks? Record grudge time."

"Almost as long as when I gave her those hairclips!"

The two young men burst into laughter. It was bone-shaking, skin-rippling laughter, something that consumed them whole; it felt good. It was something they hadn't done a lot of recently, especially together. It might not have been an appropriate moment to make jokes, but it was something to soften the darkness that consumed their lives. Enjoy the small things, as Mrs. Kamiya had told the two one time. After a couple of seconds, Matt sighed and said, "That was such a long time ago, man..."

Tai's laughter slowly dimmed, then faded completely. He nodded. "I know," he repeated, then stood. "I'm okay now. My memory got a little jumbled, but I'll be alright. None of us have to fight alone anymore. All three of us faced Dianamon one-on-one... so I think it's time we take her on together. Or Sora's a hypocrite."

Matt chuckled, the shadows fading from his wrists.

They were ready.

"ARGENT FEAR!" Crusadermon cried.

"THOUSAND FIST," came Mercurymon's voice.

"AVALON'S GATE." Examon slashed through the barrage of attacks.

Matt and Tai gave one final nod toward each other, then launched into attack side-by-side with Sora, their six attacks lighting up the sky as Dianamon threw arrow after arrow.

_WE WILL NOT BE BEATEN THIS EASILY..._ the Destined thought, using every ounce of strength inside them.


	32. I&XXXII: A Monster Within

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Preliator" by Globus

**Author's Note:** This chapter has a lot of homages to the V-Tamer manga – particularly Chapters 55-58 – but you don't need to read V-Tamer to understand what's going on.

(-'010102000'-)

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXXII**

... The Monster Within ...

_It was like a pendulum._

_Day in, day out, Demon watched as his comrades were taken out one-by-one. He began to count the seconds to when the next one was picked off. And every single time, it was as though he had arrived just a minute too late._

_It happened with the Hawk-Eyed, Golden-Haired Prophecy Girl. And now it was happening once more before his eyes, his clawed hand outstretched, his jowls quivering with a scream that wouldn't reach its target in time._

"You're **mine**,"_ Barbamon hissed as his body curled around the Flame Homunculus. Like a snake, Barbamon's jaw unhinged and plunged toward Gennai's neck. But he'd left his defenses down too long— Barbamon's strength had always lied in his brains, never his brawn— and 10 silver attacks catapulted through the air. Just as his fangs were centimeters from Gennai's palpable flesh, Barbamon flung off of Gennai's back and soared through the air._

_Two of the Knights wavered, their data scattering in the wind. Barbamon might have been annihilated, but at least he had done this much to help his comrades._

"_You may have killed me..." Barbamon snarled through a wrinkled grin. The Knights watched him with narrowed eyes. "...But trust me..." That wrinkled grin began to fade as his data fluttered. "...It won't be so easy the next time you see me."_

"_FLAME INFERNO." Demon's claws ripped into AlforceVeedramon, then flicked in Omegamon's direction. A barrage of flame erupted from his palms, cauterizing the shining knight, then pulsing in Alphamon's direction as the black king moved to stop him. "BARBAMON—"_

_Barbamon chuckled. "Now sport, don't be a drama queen. I'll see you again... and I won't let you off easy for being late, Wrath."_

_Demon fumbled. "Yeah, yeah, just shut-up and pull yourself together!"_

"_It's too late, youngun..." Barbamon looked up at Gennai, who had gone pale with sweat, his eyes bulging like cankers as he lowered his arms. Though it would have been easy for Gennai to erupt into flame when Barbamon attacked him, he hadn't lifted a finger. Barbamon smiled at him. "Remember, Gennai... I created you... and I will be the one to destroy you."_

_Then, in tattered pieces, Barbamon fluttered through the wind. Stray data which formed nothing but air._

_When the blue diamonds cleared from Demon's vision,_

he found himself staring into the eyes of Ken Ichijouji.

"I'm not scared anymore," Ken said through gritting teeth. "I trapped you in one realm before, I can do it again. My power is unlimited! Stingmon!"

Stingmon glowed with a white light.

"_**STINGMON ENIGMA EVOLVE TO**_..."

Demon stared sullenly at his two opponents. Then, with a glance to the sky and a moment of thought, he chuckled, watching the clouds float by and disappear into the stirring vortex. "The future belongs to those who don't give up, eh?"

"...What?" Ken's brow furrowed.

Demon looked back at him. "This is what I learned from the humans: The future belongs to those who don't give up. You can write your own future regardless of odds or destiny or gods. I have changed my future... I have been through from one realm to the next, I have seen parallel worlds with origins different than this, worlds of Yggdrasil and worlds of Huanglongmon and worlds of ancient dragon gods. I have seen times and worlds where things were not as they ought to be; I have lived, I have died, I have risen from death, I have seen a thousand futures connected to a thousand pasts. I have won and I have lost. I have led rebellions and I have ruled worlds and I have destroyed dimensions. As Lucemon slept, in his pride believing himself the strongest Demon Lord, I have _improved,_ grown stronger, and stronger, and now... now, not even my brethren know my true strength. This time— just this once— the future is mine. I will have justice. I will dole out retribution. I will take my future back into my own hands.

"Not even the Destined and their Royal Knights, resurrected in prime form, will stop me again."

White light burst from Stingmon's egg. A voice cried out, _**"SLEIPMON!"**_ and a flash of red clashed against the white.

Armored head to hoof in plates of red chrome digizoid that looked like insectile shells, a six-legged centaur emerged with blue symbols embellishing his hips. A purple mane of hair flowed from his snouted face, falling between the fiery yellow wings splayed from his back. Armed with a bow and shield, Sleipmon took aim at Demon's exposed side.

At the same time, purple smoke seethed around Demon's torso. "Demon slide evolution... _**DEMON SUPER ULTIMATE.**_"

His wings doubled in size, tearing through the air in an upheaval of sand and ocean. Claws burst through his sleeves and grew thrice their original size, as his robes lengthened like his body. Horns shredded the crown of the robe, skewering the hood firmly over his face, and tipped toward the vortex.

Then, without hesitation, Demon Super Ultimate held his hand in Sleipmon's direction and said, "ALGO'S FLAME."

A black Niagara Fall of flickering flame engulfed Demon's claws before incinerating Sleipmon's arrows within a yard of Demon's chest. He then pointed that same enflamed hand in Ken and Davis's direction and prepared to fire again.

"Super...?" Ken's eyes widened. "Davis—"

"I know!" Davis called back, holding his chest. TK had managed to stop most of the bleeding, but Davis could still feel himself a second away from passing out. Darkdramon wasn't much better off. Even with his Enigma Evolution allowing Davis a better endurance, neither of them were in the kind of shape to be facing a super ultimate digimon. "Darkdramon..."

"DARK... ROAR!" Darkdramon heaved, retching as he tried to conjure another ball of dark cosmic material.

"ALGOL'S FLAME," Demon Super Ultimate replied. The attack struck Darkdramon before he could even comprehend releasing his own attack; the dark matter instead consumed Darkdramon whole, blowing him several yards back. He crashed into the ocean, forming craters in the water as he skidded across the waves. Davis bent over and held his mouth to stop the blood from coughing out of him.

_Kari..._ he thought, wincing. _I... have to stay conscious... for Kari... for Ken... for TK... for Jun and my parents and most of all... for Veemon..._

"KEN, DUCK!"

At first, the voice was so deep that neither Ken or Davis recognized it. Then they realized it came from the red-haired boy on top of his flying Kabuterimon, who came barreling at Demon. Carelessly hopping off the bug digimon's back and plowing his hands into the ground, Izzy summoned electrical wires from the surrounding trampled phone polls. They wrapped around Demon's throat and yanked him back while Kabuterimon charged an Electro Shocker.

"DARK...SPREADER..." Demon muttered as he grappled with the chords. The black flame turned solid and flat; no longer a flickering, untamed lantern, it oozed out of Demon's palm and instead consumed the ground beneath his feet. He sunk into the blackness as if it were a portal, then reappeared behind Kabuterimon. _**WHUMP**_. He kicked Kabuterimon in the back, struggling to wrench the chords off of him. Seeing Sleipmon fire another attack behind him, he grabbed the fumbling Kabuterimon by his right wing and used him as a shield; the arrows plunged through him, causing Izzy to buckle over, and then tossed Kabuterimon aside as easily as the chords wrapped around his esophagus.

With Davis, Darkdramon, Kabuterimon, and Izzy crippled, Demon began to make his move. One newly-evolved mega was not enough to stop him, not this time. He would readily admit the Destined had a talent for accomplishing the impossible... but Demon was not weak like MaloMyotismon. He was not suicidal like Apocalymon. He was not soft like Piemon. Demon was exactly what his name called him— a demon.

"BIFROST," Sleipmon cried as Demon's hand lurched toward Ken's throat. Demon rolled to avoid the red-hot arrow that tore through the air, sharp and quick enough to leave behind a glowing trail of data. Stomping one of his hooves on the ground, the concrete shuddered beneath Demon's feet; he grunted, then smashed his hand into a nearby abandoned vehicle and bashed Sleipmon over the head with it.

Sleipmon stumbled back. _**WHACKWHACK.**_ Several blows to the chest and face. _**WHACKWHACK**_. The bumper squealed as its hinges broke and it clattered against the broken road. _**WHACKWHACK**_. The already-dented roof caved in. _**WHACKWHACK**_. The cracked windshield shattered, spraying sheets of jagged glass. _**WHACKWHACK**_. A car door joined the bumper on the ground. _**WHACKWHACK**_. The car finally snapped in half.

Sleipmon faltered. Two of his six knees hit the ground. Huffing, he stared blankly at the ground for a second, blood dripping from a cut on his brow where his armor had been smacked off his face. Demon stared down at the horse.

"I hate you Goddamn knights," he grunted, raising one-half of the car and— _**WHACK— **_It crashed against Sleipmon's cranium, knocking him to his face.

"Sleipmon!" Ken cried.

"Heh..." Sleipmon craned his neck so that half his face pointed in Demon's direction. He was grinning. "That's all you got?"

Demon raised a brow. "Excuse me?"

"BIFROST." A red arrow catapulted through Demon's shoulder, flying cleanly through skin and bone, and hit the building behind him. Not giving Demon enough time to react, Sleipmon slammed his shield into the ground and continued, "ODIN'S BREATH."

A subzero blizzard burst from the ground beneath Demon's feet, turning his toes to ice in an instant, and curled around his fingers. Growling, Demon screamed, "ALGO'S FLAME," and melted the ice before it could freeze anymore of him. His feet still bolted to the ground, he ducked to avoid Sleipmon's fist, then leaned back to evade another volley of arrows. Incinerating each wave of attacks with his Algo's flame, he soon bit back his frustration and shouted, "YOU DESTINED KNOW NOTHING."

_**CRRRAAAAACK**_

Ice hued red by blood, Demon wrenched his ankles out of the ice keeping them to the ground. Footless, Demon took flight, spraying the world beneath him with a burning, darkening heat, uncurling from his palms like an ocean of fire. His horns glowed a faint green as he held his hands up to the sky and whispered his second attack, filtering the vortex with an endless black that blotted the light.

"Dark... Spreader..."

Darkness hailed from the sky, zapping the light. As each drop hit ground, a large boom followed; entire areas pulverized by each tiny exploding drop, digimon and humans alike burst open and burned to ash. Cinders weaved through the wind. An inferno flared to the sky, the entire city burning, burning. In the near distance, they heard Leviamon's body clash against the ocean as his tail unraveled. Fire burned around him, illuminating his red scales; he was laughing for once. Dianamon, too, shrieked with laughter as the fire filled her ocean-gray eyes. The fire gleamed orange against Bagramon's armor as he slashed at Joe's face.

One of those many explosions blossomed inches from Ken's face.

He was blown back by the force, skin sliding from the bone and unfurling at the ends of his ears. Hair scorched and withered, Ken flipped through the air as he tried to steady himself. _No..._ he thought, landing hard in a crater several feet deep. Looking up blearily at Demon Super Ultimate's looming form, he felt his own consciousness begin to ebb. _I should be dead..._ _Or am I about to die?_ He clenched his hands. _I'm sorry, Sleipmon... Yolei... Davis... Ryo. I'll see you again soon, Sam..._

"_**KENNNNN**_! ODIN'S BREATH!"

Demon Super Ultimate avoided the blizzard and pelted more of the black rain at Sleipmon. Sleipmon flipped through the air, but caught himself and flung several more red-glowing arrows.

"TRUMP SWORD!" cried Demon.

"What?!" Izzy surfaced beside a haggard Kabuterimon, his brow furrowing. "But... that's impossible... That's Piemon's attack... the only other digimon who was able to use his attack was Apocalymon!"

Demon's attack scattered Sleipmon's arrows. Seconds later, Demon held out his palms and echoed, "EXILE SPEAR..." His arms transformed into two cleavers that howled against the wind as he descended in Kabuterimon's direction. Kabuterimon leaped back just in time, an Electro Shocker lighting up Demon's eyes. He absorbed the attack and upper-cut with a cleaver, slashing through Kabuterimon's ribs.

"DOT MATRIX," Demon called. Through some invisible force, craters exploded around Kabuterimon and Izzy. Both digimon and partner were pushed back by the unseen attack, skin ripping open. Kabuterimon's data wavered, but he didn't burst yet; instead, he fell to his knees.

"He's..." Kabuterimon bit back a hiss. "Izzy, he's absorbing my data!"

"How...?" Izzy looked down at his own hands. Though he was supposed to be made of flesh and blood, he, too, was flickering; like static in a television, it was as if Izzy, too, had data to be consumed.

"There was a time..." Demon chuckled, continuing to absorb Kabuterimon and Izzy's data, "...when I was consumed – no, absorbed – by another digimon, a monster that went by the name Arcadimon," he said, eyes gleaming against the surrounding explosions. "But inside his belly, I fought for control. I tore him up from the inside-out and took control of his body, ripping off his flesh and shaping it into a body most comfortable to me. And now... now all those he absorbed are stirring inside me as well. A Piemon, an Arcadimon, and... hahahahaha...

"ICE BEAST FIST." Cold-blue energy exploded around Demon's fist and surged at Izzy in the shape of a Leomon's face. Izzy gaped as he barely evaded the attack, only for Demon to grab him by the neck and dangle him over the same crater Ken lied crippled within.

"Leomon...?" Izzy muttered.

"A Leomon, in another world, another parallel dimension," Demon said. "Ah... you are Gennai's closest... So that must peak some interest, the thought of other dimensions. Not just another world. Not just another Digital World connected to Earth. But whole parallel Earths, parallel Digital Worlds... Wouldn't you like to see them sometime, kid? I think I'll make you see some soon... I think I'll make you know what the hell you're gettin' into, facin' me! ALGO'S FLAME!"

Izzy screeched as black flame erupted around his neck where Demon gripped him. Struggling to get away from his captor, Izzy kicked out, but he remained dangling, flesh burning like Ken's face. _I can't... activate the Enigma Evolution... _he thought in-between gurgling screams. _There's no technology nearby! My cellphone... my..._ At that moment, all the feeling in his neck gave out and went limp, numb, his nerves burned dead.

"IZZYYYYY!" Kabuterimon stumbled, purple light oozing around him. _**"KABUTERIMON ENIGMA EVOLVE TO..."**_

_I don't have time to wait, _Kabuterimon thought, feeling the data flow around him. Deep inside his chest, there was an unbelievable heat, consuming him, bearing him, holding him. He closed his eyes and let the egg shape his flesh and bone. _I need... more... POWER..._

The power to shape reality...

The power to see the unseeable...

The power to reach the impossible...

The purple light flared in a popping Sunburst around Kabuterimon. He emerged, lightning and tiger-striped energy screaming from his body, in the form of his new-evolved Enigma. Wings unfurling behind him, electrical sabers bursting from his palms, his red scarf billowing, Izzy's partner stood tall...

"_**TIGERVESPAMON! ...GUARDIAN, DEFENDER, MEISTER! MACH STINGER V!**_"

Quicker than lightning, TigerVespamon plunged both of his blue-tinted sabers deep inside Demon's neck. Surprised, Demon released Izzy, who fell deep inside the pit beside Ken.

Together, TigerVespamon and Sleipmon flashed through the battle, ripping into Demon Super Ultimate. With a grunt, Demon held out his arms. Orbs of light fluttered around him.

"SEVEN HEAVENS," Demon called. The floating orbs of light coiled into seven streams of light that tore into TigerVespamon's defenses, then proceeded to push Sleipmon into the ocean beside Darkdramon, who still struggled to stand.

"Will not..." TigerVespamon muttered, fumbling on his feet, launching in Demon's direction, "...be defeated..."

"T...T..." Izzy tried to speak, but his scorched esophagus made him buckle over, grasping frantically at his throat.

"NOT AS LONG AS IZZY STANDS," TigerVespamon screamed. "_ROYAL MEISTER!_"

TigerVespamon stabbed his twin blades through Demon's wings. Demon flung seven more orbs at TigerVespamon. Dodging them, he flung a blade at Demon; Demon deflected it with his claws, then slashed at TigerVespamon. With a grunt, the two clashed head-to-head, then TigerVespamon tossed Demon through several buildings. The two giants rumbled through the city streets. Demon tore up a sewer tunnel from underground and smashed it against TigerVespamon's face; TigerVespamon grabbed it before it was out of reach and yanked Demon forward into a savage upper-cut.

"EXCALIBUR!" Demon's arms strained as he struggled against TigerVespamon's twin blades. A blade made of purple and black energy lanced out of his arm and pealed into the night as it collided with TigerVespamon's blades. "DYSTOPIAN LANCES."

His leg-stumps fashioned themselves into writhing, slithering tentacles that pierced TigerVespamon's stomach. TigerVespamon bit down on his bottom lip and slashed upward with one of his twin blades. Demon flexed his elbow and wrenched it back, blocking it and then kicking away TigerVespamon's second blade with his stump of a foot. Silver flashes jolted across the sky as TigerVespamon and Demon clashed blades.

"ODIN'S BREATH," Sleipmon managed to shout from the ocean. A wave of ice froze a trail through the ocean as it swerved in Demon's direction, crystallizing Demon's fighting arm. Demon lifted a lip in another grunt before blocking another one of TigerVespamon's Mach attacks with his claws; twirling the ice that was his arm and the energy sword, the twin blades shrieked as they smashed against the icy blade. "ODIN'S BREATH," Sleipmon shouted again.

"ALGO'S FLAME!" Demon called just in time to melt the ice before it could reach him, then popped his own arm out of its socket. With a snarl and one arm defending himself from TigerVespamon's attacks, his jaws clamped down on his shoulder and tore into his joint right where the ice continued infecting his cells. Yanking up, he tore off his own arm with his teeth and spat it below, then slashed at TigerVespamon with his only remaining arm. "DYSTOPIA LANCES."

Tentacles oozed out of the stump in his shoulder and rumbled in TigerVespamon's face, whapping him to the side. Turning toward Sleipmon, Demon checkered the air and ocean in front of him with a swift swipe of his claws. Black energy beams roiled the air.

"GIGA STICK LANCE!" Darkdramon managed to shield Sleipmon and himself just barely in time from the attack, but in the process his arm-lance chinked and splintered to the ocean floor below.

"Darkdramon!" TigerVespamon called, choking; the Enigma Evolution was beginning to mimic Izzy's charred throat... but the Enigma Evolution would heal them both soon enough. Growling, he swiped in Demon's direction. Demon caught the blade one-handedly and motioned to punch TigerVespamon in the jaw. TigerVespamon ducked, his free blade plummeting through Demon's stomach.

_**CRRRRAACK**_

Demon tore off TigerVespamon's arm and swerved to slash off two of TigerVespamon's four wings. TigerVespamon fumbled, eyes widening. "Wha..."

Demon grabbed TigerVespamon by his scarf and swung him around so that their faces were mere inches apart.

"_**GOD MATRIX.**_"

Twin beams catapulted out of Demon Super Ultimate's eyes. They collided against TigerVespamon's twin blades, broke them, absorbed them, and bludgeoned TigerVespamon full-force in the face.

"T...T...TIGERVESPAMON!" Izzy screamed. _**THUNK**_. TigerVespamon spiraled through the air, then struck ground in a smoking crater right next to Izzy and Ken. "..._TENTOMON!"_

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

As he approached, each of Demon's footsteps sounded like thunder which shook the ground.

"Tentomon! Tentomon, please get up!" Izzy cried out, trying to stand. He managed to get to his knees, coughing, hacking, his voice raw. "We have Enigma Evolution now..."

_The ability to grasp all the answers..._ Izzy thought, reaching out for his struggling digimon, whose expression had gone blank as he stared up at the sky, his data wavering. _The ability to know everything, to see all things! To hold all power, and to find all truths. It's in our reach now, so get up!_

Demon grabbed TigerVespamon by his scarf again and hoisted him skyward. Feet dangling, Demon thrust him in Izzy's direction, but didn't release him.

"You are Gennai's favorite," Demon said to Izzy, looking between Izzy and Ken. Ken, too, was trying to stand, blood and pus and gangrene dripping down the blackened bone of his charred jowls. "So I'll take the greatest pleasure in doing this to you."

"Don't... no..." Ken was muttering, his hands hazily grasping at the ground as he tried to join Izzy's screams. Izzy rushed in Demon's direction, but with his tentacled arm, he swatted Izzy across the face and sent him flying.

"It's over," Demon replied, turning to TigerVespamon. "You will die."

Something beyond TigerVespamon's blank expression softened. Recognition dawning beyond the mist muddling his mind, the 0's and 1's which were populating what was once his complex, complicated data, TigerVespamon managed to look Demon straight in the eye and lift his hand. With a **THWACK**, TigerVespamon slapped Demon hard enough that his hood tore off his head and fluttered to the ground below.

With a jutting upper-lip that protruded with bloodstained fangs, Demon's face was hardly what they expected. Brown fur, jagged as blades, spiked out of his skull, leaving only his red-glowing, crescent-shaped eyes and purple-hued flesh.

"This is all you are..." TigerVespamon muttered. "I didn't want to fight you... I was scared... I've always been scared to face enemies... maybe because I knew one day this would happen, but... it's okay now. Because my opponent has always been just as afraid of the world as I am."

Demon's lips curled into a snarl as he wrenched back his elbow. "_**SHUT THE FUCK UP.**_"

_**CRRRACK**_

His claws launched through TigerVespamon's chest. Tearing up, he slashed through TigerVespamon's lungs and sliced him vertical all the way to his crown. Dark data bellowed out of Demon's hand and infected TigerVespamon's wounds, glowing black through his veins as his vessels pulsated.

"TENTOMON!" Izzy cried.

"I can't..." TigerVespamon gasped, choking.

"You won't turn into a DigiEgg," Demon said carelessly. "You're dying on Earth, Slave."

Blood stained Izzy's shirt as he crumpled, yet he continued. Sallying-forth on all fours, he crawled toward his digimon, reaching outward.

He couldn't give up.

"And now for you..." Demon muttered, dropping TigerVespamon carelessly to the ground in front of Izzy and marching in Ken's direction. "I will have that Spore, Ichijouji."

He grabbed Ken by the back of his neck and propped him over, claws slashing into Ken's spine and clasping the spore lodged deep inside his cranium. Ken screamed; his scream joined that of Izzy's, of Davis's, of Sleipmon's, as Demon tore the Dark Spore from his neck and kicked him into the wall of the crater.

"And here it is!" Demon said through a grin, holding the Dark Spore to the sky as it hovered above his palm.

"A Demon Lord's resurrection!"


	33. I&XXXIII: Triumphant, Resistant

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Changes" by Deftones, "Remembering Jenny" by Christophe Beck

**Author's Note:** This chapter contains some dialogue from the dubbed episode 24 of Digimon Adventure, particularly the flashback stuff between Tentomon and Izzy.

(-'010102000'-)

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXXIII**

... Destiny Triumphant, Destiny Resistant ...

_Gennai lied in a crumpled ball. Festering, rotted energy hung like a cave's awning over his shivering body. There was nothing to do. Nothing to say. His eyes were wide open, his pupils dilated and body stiff. Outside, he watched the rain fall._

"_Don't breathe a word of this," she said, pulling her lips back in a grin. "There are worse things than death."_

Her words echoed in the back of Gennai's mind as he neared the human world. To this day, her voice gave him shivers. He had kept his silence for eons, now it was time to finally reveal all the Seven Great Demon Lords' most guarded secrets... the secrets they, and the human Destined who temporarily stopped them, never wanted anyone to know.

(-'1020102010'-)

_Is this real...?_

Ken grabbed his head as he tried to open his eyes. Black dots filtered his vision. For a moment, he thought he might have gone blind, until he saw the light... It was flickering like fire above his head, stirring; purple torchlight flecking the blackness which gripped him. For a second, just one, he thought maybe it was Yolei there sitting beside him, that perhaps she was the purple light in the darkness.

Giving a strained, concussed look up at the purple torchlight, he realized it was anything but Yolei. Lining the blackness with sharp purple slashes, the royal fire formed an emblem Ken didn't recognize... yet it chilled him to the bone. He tried to remember where he'd seen it before. It felt familiar, as if he should've known what it was, but nothing came to mind.

_I have to get outta here... the others need me..._

That was when a low, crackling, ancient voice rumbled the black walls of Ken's subconscious. Ken paused, peering back up at the purple emblem— where the voice exuded from.

"**...Who are you?**" the voice rattled.

Ken hesitated, then answered, "Ken Ichijouji. Can you help me find my friends?"

The voice was just as hesitant as he was to answer. But in the end, the voice answered Ken's question with his own. "**...Are they human, these friends of yours? Little human children?**"

"Well, we all were children at one time... we're still just a bunch of stupid kids, I suppose," Ken said with a bittersweet smile. "But... yeah, yeah we are humans. And I guess you aren't? Who are you?"

Just then, Ken saw a flash of something behind the blazing emblem. Squinting, he saw it was flashes of memories— _his_ memories. Not pleasant ones, either.

"_Sam...?"_ said a tiny voice. Ken didn't realize who spoke until he saw himself flash over the emblem, reaching out for a blurry figure in the distance.

The figure – the disembodied voice – was seeping deep within Ken's mind and pulling out his memories, putting them on display.

"Stop," Ken demanded, quietly at first.

"_I told you not to go into my stuff!"_** WHACK**

Ken – both present and past – flinched as Sam's palm connected with Ken's cheek. "I don't want to see this," Ken repeated, his voice weakening.

"**But I do,**" the disembodied voice replied. "**I want to know who I am.**"

"_Sam...?"_ that tiny voice repeated again, a hand reaching out to hold onto the blurry figure's. Sam's smiling face glanced down at his tiny brother, another memory in a kaleidoscope of moments, significant and insignificant both.

"_I'm sorry I lost my temper,"_ Sam whispered, crouching down to peer into Ken's widening eyes. _"I'll make it up to you. I'll get some straws from the store and we'll blow bubbles for a while. What do ya say, lil bro?"_

Lil Ken smiled big. _"Yeah!"_

Sam chuckled and released Ken's hand. _"I'll be back, then."_

"**He didn't return home that afternoon, did he?**" the disembodied voice asked.

Ken had gone silent. He turned his face away from the memories, hoping to repress the surge crippling his chest. There was a warmth churning within his ribcage. It rippled and splashed, then flooded his throat, where it scalded his esophagus. Unsatisfied, the warmth trailed to his cheeks, then his eyes, where it stung.

He didn't look back at the flashing memories until another voice caught his attention. This voice was also his own, in a moment he would have given anything to change.

"_I will show this world... that I am different from Millenniumon..."_ said the older Ken Ichijouji, clad in a blue, billowing cape, gold guards jutting out of his shoulders. _"I am the Digimon Emperor."_

"**The boy who conquered the world...**" the voice chuckled. "**All he really wanted, though, was to play games with the human children.**"

"Why are you showing me this? Do you think I'm proud of that moment?" Ken asked, glancing away from the memory and staring into the burning emblem. Frustrated, Ken went on, "Oh, never mind. I don't have time for this. I have to get back to my friends. If I don't, Demon will—"

At this, the voice spoke up again. "**Demon?**" Ken blinked. The voice knew him? A low chuckle permeated from the flame as the voice went on, "**Ah hahah... that rowdy child... let me talk to him. I want to talk to him. **

"**I **_**will**_** talk to him.**"

(-'102301021'-)

Demon threw his head back in a bellowing laugh as he held the hovering Dark Spore to the sky. It crackled with dark, malevolent energy, stirring with the crippling weight of ten-thousand Black Holes. The Dark Spore... finally, after centuries of waiting... desperately reaching to the heavens, begging for this moment to arrive... after asking himself over and over again for the retribution he so deserved... after remaining alone for so many years, striving to attain an impossible strength...

Finally, after all this, he had finally gotten hold of the Dark Spore and found himself one step closer to unlocking the souls of his demon brethren.

"_I told you, Wrath..."_

Demon stumbled. Where had that voice come from?

He swerved around. Ken had hit the ground hard, his head still pressed to the crater wall— could the voice have come from him? But it was so low, incredibly deep. Crackling. Booming.

"_I wouldn't let you off easy for being so late..."_

Ken craned his neck around to view Demon. Demon's eyes slowly widened. Ken's lips cracked into a grin.

White smoke oozed out of Ken's wounds.

"No..." Demon dropped the Dark Spore to the ground. "It can't be... No... The Council have already turned all my allies to enemies... Lilithmon into a slave... not my brethren, too... NOT MY BRETHREN. _ANYTHING BUT A HUMAN._ **ALGO'S FLAME!**"

Ken caught Demon's attack with a single hand. As the smoke continued unfurling from his wounds, they liquefied and regenerated. With that deep, crackling voice, Ken chuckled. "This body wasn't the _Council's_ choice, youngun... Hahahahahah..."

"I took out the Spore! I did what you asked me to!" Demon howled, throwing another barrage of black flame. "You always said, the great scientist... you told me... these little devices carried souls desiring containers, bodies... You had given Millenniummon but a single one as your vengeance against the Council... you gave the last to Piemon so that you may have your vengeance on Gennai... and shared the secret with Myotismon... You told me the Demon Lords could be resurrected by placing these in digimon bodies! SO WHY ARE YOU IN THAT BODY, BARBAMON?! _**ALGO'S FLAME!**_"

Ken smothered Demon's flame with his hand. Fully healed, he strode in Demon's direction. Demon stumbled back and fell, claws frantically gripping at the ground as he remained facing Ken's approaching form. Data bytes unfurled with the white smoke, a shawl of blue and black color manifesting from the dark and sundering reality with a crackling seam; it clapped around Ken's shoulders and fluttered with the gales, the Digimon Emperor's Reign.

Ken... Barbamon... chuckled. "Wouldn't you like to know, old sport? All my secrets... All my plans..."

"No..." Demon clenched his teeth into a snarl. Hurling from the ground, he slashed at Ken, growling, howling in a guttural voice. Was the Dark Spore designed to _block _Barbamon's consciousness from Ken's mind? Or was it to activate Barbamon from within Ken? Did the retrieval of the Dark Spore bring Barbamon to the surface? No no no... the Dark Spore was supposed to be Barbamon, not Ken. NOT Ken. "I DENY THIS REALITY. THIS IS NOT WHAT I HAVE WORKED CENTURIES, ENTIRE _LIFETIMES_, TO ACHIEVE!"

"The Destined will be triumphant once again, Demon," Ken replied, dodging each swipe. "Try as you might to rewrite the future, it will conquer you time and time again. These children are meant to grow old, to fasten an entire generation of digi-earth exploration to their shoulders. They are the true future, a future of peace and kindness and knowledge between man and monkind!"

"INSECTS!" Demon screamed, cuffing Ken on the chin. Ken hurdled through the air and whipped around. Vines unfurled from his palms and lashed Demon across the face. He, too, flung back and hit the crater wall, his eyes narrowing. "All of humanity... _insects..._ deceptive, ungrateful, traitorous, disloyal little bastards! Every single one of them! And now you... _you have become just as disgusting as they._"

"Yes, but..." Ken – Barbamon – smiled brightly. "I have always been a deceptive, ungrateful, traitorous, and disloyal lil bastard, hahahah!"

"But not to me..." Demon whispered, going limp. "Never to me..." he repeated, voice breaking.

Ken came to a stop in front of Demon, who sunk to his knees. Looking into the downcast face of his old ally, Barbamon tilted his head to the side. "Your life is not the life I want. But take a good look at the face I wear now— this is what _true_ wrath looks like. It's really a shame... that I was Greed... Goodbye, Hope."

Demon's face snapped up to view Ken's face. As Barbamon finished, his slanted eyes widened, the unfathomable depths stirring within them dimming and fading in little time. As the recognition vanished, so did Ken's consciousness. The boy fainted to the ground, where he lied limp. The phantom fell back to his slumber.

Demon continued sitting on his knees in front of the boy. He stared for a couple of seconds. Barbamon's last breath flashed before his eyes. Then Demon craned back his head to peer up at the vortex. Took a deep breath.

And chuckled.

Then grabbed his face, claws biting skin, and laughed again.

Laughed until his laughter turned into shrieks.

"So you chose the human children over me... This isn't over yet, Greed..." Demon muttered, slowly standing, his fists gripping. "This is only beginning. I'm not finished yet. My resolve will not be shaken so easily. This time, just once, the future will be _mine_. I will have my brethren restored. I will have justice. Even if I need to shake the very heavens to achieve it.

"_**I WILL NEVER STOP!**_"

(-'102010201'-)

Izzy had drifted away from reality. TigerVespamon's data wavered. His eyes were peering blankly at Izzy, and Izzy stared just as blankly back.

He thought about many things, like all the enemies they faced— and not just the big ones, either, but the smaller opponents as well. Cronies like Ogremon and DemiDevimon and when Centaurmon was infected by one of Devimon's Gears. Protecting each other from Myotismon's legions. How supportive Tentomon had been when Izzy learned the truth about his parents, despite Tentomon never knowing what parents were, himself. Without experiencing the same culture as his human partner, Tentomon had been sensitive and kind to someone he just barely understood.

That had been something about Tentomon that Izzy admired. While Izzy sometimes got caught up in the technicalities of life, or forgot reality, or clung desperately to his little orderly world, Tentomon always brought him out of that lonely place, that darkness, and reminded him that there were people out there who wanted to spend time with him. That there was more for him than a laptop and those puzzles. Tentomon could ground Izzy in a way no one else, not even Tai or his guardians, could.

There was one time during their adventures in the Digital World all those years ago when he and Tentomon got into trouble with Vademon. Sobbing, a brokenhearted Pabumon had called out to Izzy and said, _"Have you forgotten who I am, Izzy? Have you forgotten who you are? Please try to remember. Try!"_

_Yes,_ Izzy thought now, reaching out to caress TigerVespamon's cheek. _Try._

"_Hold on, Izzy!"_ Tentomon had said on that same blistering day. They were falling down a cave to the dark recesses below, but Tentomon grabbed hold of Izzy's wrist and tried to stop him from relieving the one thing that made Izzy exactly who he was. _"Don't let go of your curiosity!"_ Tentomon had begged him. _"It's your curiosity I really admire."_

_My curiosity... Your common sense..._ Izzy's hand went to his chest, where his fingers dug trenches into his shirt. _These are the things we have always admired about each other._

Izzy was beginning to dissolve into data, as well. He looked at his own hand as it wavered and fluttered to the sky, then brought his gaze back to TigerVespamon.

In one last moment, TigerVespamon grasped Izzy by the shoulder and pulled him into a bearhug. Izzy fell limp against his partner. TigerVespamon whispered something Izzy couldn't understand, then, in a louder voice, his breath tickling Izzy's ear as he continued hugging his partner, he said, "Absorb my data, Izzy..."

"What?" Izzy jerked away from him.

TigerVespamon's feet and calves were dissolving.

"If I die, so do you... but if you absorb me, you'll survive... because I'll be alive within you..." The same hand he'd used to pull Izzy into a hug now caressed Izzy's face, just as Izzy had caressed his. "It's obvious the Enigma Evolution has made you part-data. So you should absorb my power."

"But... I can't, Tentomon..." Izzy rapidly shook his head, holding his face. "I can't do that to you! In this reality... in this world, and the Digital World tied to it, that's not even possible!"

"But it's been done in other realities, other Earths and Digital Worlds... I know you saw it, when I Enigma Evolved... I know you felt it, deep in your heart. It is possible. C'mon, whatever happened to that curious brain of yours, always willing to test theories?" TigerVespamon winced, but continued, "Always taking whatever chance I could to avoid a fight... Let me die giving you one final gift... the greatest gift I can give. The greatest sacrifice. Next time you fight, Izzy..." He smiled. "...We fight as a single person."

"Tentomon..." Tears filled Izzy's eyes. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Izzy Izumi," TigerVespamon replied.

Silence. They listened to the crackling of fire above, to the gasps of Ken and Demon behind them, to the screams and thumps and thunders of battle that roared overhead. Then, his voice rumbling and guttural and raw and penetrating, Izzy's low screams joined those of the above, and he grabbed TigerVespamon by the shoulders...

Wailing, Izzy Izumi absorbed TigerVespamon's data.

(-'1020102012'-)

_This isn't... my reality..._ Kari muttered as she struggled to a stand, straddling the ground, expression curled in a glare. _I won't let Leviamon do this to my friends. I didn't bow to him when I was 11, I won't bow to him now..._

Mimi, too, stood, holding her pulsing temples, her thoughts, her ideas. She couldn't let Leviamon make her see the darkness; she wouldn't allow her fears to control her. She thought about her high school days in New York City, those long nights that seemed to go by so fast and yet they seemed an eternity compared to the battle before her. Every night, the only thing she wanted was to return home, to find her friends again in Japan. Even burrowing her sorrows into the bottom of a bottle couldn't wring out the pain, no matter how often or hard hard she tried to repress her feelings.

Yolei screamed and smashed her fist into some nearby rubble. Howling with rage, she pointed at Valdurmon above her head and said, "SCREW THIS! LET'S KICK SOME ASS, VALDURMON."

"Ah," Minervamon said, sliding her blade out of Leviamon's nose. "They're awake. Looks like you're not as invincible as you like to pretend."

Leviamon grunted, then swung his tail at Minervamon. She rolled through the air and cast off a million sparks of light that collided with his face. He hurdled backwards and hit the ocean floor. Waves as tall as he was splashed against the city, rupturing the flame and spilling over docks and nearby islands, deluging over the nearby landmass across from the island.

Minervamon grabbed him by a tail and swung him back into the city – just a 4-foot childlike creature against a beast bigger than the whole Odaiba Island.

"**All I wanted**..." Leviamon muttered, standing, lashing out. "...**was to understand**!"

Through the combined efforts of Minervamon, Yolei and Kari riding atop Valdurmon's back, and Mimi, they slowly but surely pushed Leviamon in the direction of his partners.

(-'102010201'-)

_This chill..._ Bagramon looked up from his battle with Joe, TK, Cody, Neptunmon, Goddramon, Dynasmon, Firamon, Cyclonemon, and Wingdramon. In the near distance, he watched Leviamon's massive body unfurl as he struggled against his opponents. _I see,_ Bagramon continued with a grin. _He's awakened... It has been a long time coming, that shackled god of insanity allowing his madness to unravel..._

_Even Demon will have a hard time taming that beast without falling into the void._

"DON'T LOOK AWAY FROM ME!" _**SMASH**_ Bagramon flipped through the air against the weight of Joe's fist. Huffing, Bagramon looked up just in time to see the combined attacks of all his opponents, hurling in his direction. Before a single cuss could escape between his lips, the attacks struck, rattling his ribs and sundering his heart.

Then another chill entered his chest, this one separate from Leviamon's influence.

This feeling...

It was _them_. The Triad was close by. And if Bagramon's children were nearing, then that meant someone _else_ was about to make an appearance... old faces were finally coming to the surface.

Through the blood caking his fangs, Bagramon laughed. "Have your fun while you can," Bagramon told them. "Shit is about to hit the fan."

(-'1020110201'-)

_**WHACK**_ Dianamon's foot smashed into Sora's face, then twirled to collide with both Examon and Crusadermon. Jumping high, she barely dodged a rush by Mercurymon, then redirected her legs to crash against Matt's face to use as a stepping stone in Tai's direction. Then she slashed an arrow across his chest, threw him into Mercurymon, and grabbed Sora by the throat.

That was when a cold feeling clasped her ribs.

She halted in her trek, seconds away from crushing Sora's windpipe. This ice inside her...

_Leviamon has fully awoken. They're coming,_ she thought, carelessly releasing Sora and looking immediately to her right. _He's here._

_My other half._

"DIANAMON!" Sora's fist plowed into Dianamon's chest, then launched skyward to cut into her chin. Dianamon spiraled backwards, flipping, and landed on one knee, frowning.

"God, you are the most annoying woman I have ever had the displeasure of fighting," Dianamon grunted, wiping blood off her bottom lip. She grinned. "I kinda like it. It's a shame you're a human, kitty. There needs to be more crazy bitches in my world."

"Hah," Sora answered with her own grin. "Crazy bitches unite."

"Sora, we are in the middle of a fight to the death here! Stop fraternizing with the enemy!" Tai called frantically before Dianamon whacked him in the face with her shin.

Sora laughed, then fired off an arrow of darkness; simultaneously, Tai leaped to his feet and threw a punch. Matt, grinning, unleashed all the metal pipes beneath the streets and jutted them like harpoons from the ground. Examon, Crusadermon, and Mercurymon's attacks joined those of their partners', pushing Dianamon closer to the center of the city... closer to her comrades.

(-'10201020201'-)

Izzy could feel it stirring inside of him...

TigerVespamon's voice, dying out, withering and yet it was screaming inside his shuddering, broken-open soul. He could feel his partner digimon writhing within him, their data entwining, enveloping him in undulations of white-hot heat. The power of two Enigma Evolutions together...

Izzy hunched over. Data verved around his body, prickling his skin. Half his face flickered, then morphed; the skin bubbled over and belts of it twitched, forming instead half of TigerVespamon's face. Tiger stripes flecked half Izzy's body, blaring with a contradicting black light that filtered his face. One of his dark eyes glowed red in the flickering, dying torchlight dangling above his head, revealing not just a single eye, but a compound eye, thousands of lens which prickled along the side of his face.

_We're together, TigerVespamon..._ Izzy thought, slowly turning in Demon's direction. _And now we will always be together..._

Izzy rushed at Demon, electricity crackling along his fingers. At the same moment, Ken's eyes flicked open; he looked up just in time to hold out a palm and force a jungle vine to surge out of his forefinger and toward Demon. Above their heads, Davis roared, fire checkering the air as his attack bellowed downward. Darkdramon, too, and Sleipmon had arrived, dark matter and red arrows whistling against the pressure.

Demon had not stopped cackling from his encounter with Ken— or whatever the beast inside Ken was. As the attacks strayed within inches of him, he smashed his palms together. An oven of black starfire exploded around his hands, then consumed his entire body, forming a barrier that dissipated the attacks before they could strike.

Through the smoke, Demon emerged. _**THWACK.**_ He tossed Sleipmon into Darkdramon. _**CRACK**_. He smacked Ken as he rushed to Sleipmon's aid, then _**WHACK**_ he punched Davis in the jaw, right into the spiraling Ken.

"I underestimated the Demon Lords..." Demon said in a pant, staring down at Ken, who groggily groaned and grabbed his head. Demon snickered. "Every single damn one of them has surprised me somehow. But you... _you_ are the grossest surprise of all."

"What are you...?" Ken didn't have enough time to ask his question before Demon grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off his feet.

"LET HIM GO," Izzy roared, thunder crackling along his sides and palms as he rushed Demon. Demon swung around and smacked his hand away before the attack could connect, then grabbed Izzy by the chin and tore him off-balance. In vertigo, Izzy re-caught his balance and twisted on his heel to pelt his fist at Demon.

_Never been physical..._ Izzy thought, teeth gritting, tears falling down his cheeks, _...But Ken and Cody were patient with me... I trained, I tried so hard to be strong enough for you, Tentomon! Here I am! HERE I AM, TRYING YOUR WORLD! HERE I—_

Demon grabbed Izzy by the wrist, bent him over, and kneed him in the ribcage. Izzy gaped, gagging, spittle dotting the smoldering soil of the crater. Then, lip curling in a snarl, Demon's hand glowed with a seething purple light as Ken remained dangling in his claws— except the light wasn't aimed at Ken, but Izzy, still stooped over.

"I wanted to keep you human Destined alive," Demon said in a quiet voice. "But I made an exception for Gennai's protege.

"So tell me, boy.

"Why is it you're still alive?"

"I'm... alive... because... because..." Izzy's eyes dimmed. Why was he alive? It was always Tentomon who fought for both their lives, who put himself on the line to save Izzy. And yet, even though he fought so hard, he still died. And Izzy had absorbed what little life of him remained... "because..." he repeated, eyes flickering side-to-side. "Because... you're alive..." He looked up at Demon, craning his neck to do so. "You and the Endless Ones. Because Gennai needs me. Because Gennai has always needed me, needed all of us... Because Tentomon died to save me!"

"THEN HIS DEATH WAS FOR NOTHING," Demon howled, the black fire exploding around his hand.

_**SNAAAAP**_. Demon flung backwards, releasing both Ken and Izzy before his fire could touch them. In his place, gently lying Ken on the ground and helping Izzy to his feet, was a young man inside a Mechanorimon, its glass globe of a helmet down.

Dust and debris unfurling around Demon's thrown form, the Demon Lord growled and looked up just in time to see the young man. In a gravelly voice, Demon snarled, "_**You**_..."

The younger man grabbed Izzy by the elbow and bolstered him up. "It'll be okay, kiddo," he said in a soft voice. "It'll all be okay."

"Gennai..." Izzy whispered, his voice breaking.

(-12020102-)

The firm, stoic, battle-worn mask Izzy wore crumbled away, revealing behind it a frightened, melancholic boy, who reached out in a fragile embrace to latch hold of Gennai.

Behind Gennai, Izzy caught sight of Chizuru, her partner Snatchmon, Mantarou, and Leomon. Leomon, ever the soldier, had crossed his arms over his shoulders, but his jaw was locked in a solemn frown, his brow furrowed. Chizuru was glaring. Mantarou looked pale. Had they guided Gennai to this spot?

Gennai smiled warmly, hugging Izzy back, lightly rubbing his back. "Tentomon..." Izzy whispered, breaking down. "Tentomon is... he... I..."

"I know," Gennai replied, closing his eyes. "I felt it." Those same eyes opened, their penetrating gaze resting on Demon. Demon grumbled something inaudible, dust unfurling around his form as he slowly got to his feet. Though his eyes remained trained on Demon, Gennai's voice was directed toward Izzy. "You have to be strong for me now, Izzy. Stronger than you ever thought you could be. There's no longer any room for doubt. Can you do that for me, Izumi? Can you be strong for me?"

"Yes..." Izzy croaked, pulling away from Gennai. "Yes, that's what Tentomon wants. I can be strong. I _will_ be strong."

"Good." Gennai's warm smile returned. Then, his hands feeling much older than they looked, he sifted through the inside of his robes until he pulled out a small handheld mirror. Izzy blinked.

"Gennai, isn't this an inappropriate time to be worrying about appearances?"

"Indeed it is!" Gennai chuckled. They heard the clash of weapons and metal and heat as Sleipmon flung into action, tears in his eyes. Darkdramon – Davis riding his back – flung black sphere after black sphere straight into Demon's face. The figures battled, Snatchmon shooting laser bullets from his firearm while Leomon dashed straight at Demon. Mantarou and Chizuru hung back, Chizuru drifting off into a distant world all her own as Mantarou tried to wake her up to the real battle.

Through all the commotion, Gennai clasped Izzy's hands tightly in his, placing the mirror in Izzy's hand. "I need you to take good care of this," he told Izzy. "It's the key to everything. To figuring out the Endless Ones' plot. To understanding why I am the way I am. To building a better future for both worlds. To fighting fate, both the one you were meant for and the one you are now heading toward.

"This is the Mirror of Souls, but the only soul it truly reflects is my own, Izzy. Let it show you the truth."

"Your soul...?" Izzy's brow furrowed. "Gennai, why are you telling me all this? Why can't you look after it? It's your soul, right, so this is yours to keep... why are you giving it to...? Gennai! _Gennai!_"

But Gennai was no longer responding. Instead, he turned his back to Izzy and was now trekking in Demon's direction. His hands glowing hot, he signaled for Mechanorimon and Leomon to get the others out of the crater. The metal giant did as he was told; instantly, he grabbed a shouting Izzy by the scruff of his neck and pelted him out of the wound in the soil, then bolted across the ground to knock Chizuru and Mantarou next to Izzy outside. With several swift kicks none of them saw coming – especially from an ally – Leomon just barely managed to push Sleipmon, Ken, Darkdramon, Davis, and Snatchmon out of the crater in time.

"What is he doin...?" Davis gawked as he was interrupted by an explosion of volcanic energy that erupted within the entire crater and unleashed to the vortex above.

A raw shriek clashed against the sky; Gennai was roaring. The fire incinerated the massive vortex and rumbled to the clouds in a mushroom cloud of smoke and death.

"Gennai..." Davis's jaw dropped. "Gennai can _fight_?!"

Immediately, Leviamon, Dianamon, and Bagramon all realized who had finally shown his face. Grinning, the Endless Ones fled their enemies and united in the center of the city, Dianamon and Bagramon leaping atop Leviamon's head as they glanced deep inside the smoking crater to see Demon and Gennai dashing through the ground at lightning speed.

(-'1020101201022'-)

"TK!" Momoe was panting as she rushed up to the blond. Joe hadn't hesitated to follow Bagramon, Neptunemon on his heels. The others filtered out of view, closing in on the battle between Gennai and Demon. Only TK remained behind, watching the burning remnants of his old city as the eldest Inoue sister clasped his shoulder tightly in her hand. "TK..."

He slowly craned his neck to view her, his expression blank. Momoe stumbled.

Regaining her composure, still breathless, she asked, "Where... Where's Devimon? Is he...?"

There wasn't a single twitch or strain in TK's face. Instead, he simply turned back to face the battle between his mentor and his enemy. Like a flower blossoming, Momoe's eyes slowly widened, her arms falling limply to her sides.

TK's silence was the answer she needed.

"But..." Momoe looked down at her shoes. "But I promised... Twinkies..."

"It was Demon. I'll kill him for it," TK continued, taking his first step in the battle's direction. "Maybe not today, maybe not a year from now... but I will kill him. For the Devil King."

He was stopped by Momoe's hand. She wrapped her fingers around his shoulder. When he turned, he was surprised to see her brows furrowed so intricately, not in tears or melancholy, but in anger. He could see his own rage reflecting in those eyes, in that snarled lip, in that tangled jungle of hair that no Inoue would be caught dead with. Staring up at Demon, Momoe repeated TK's mantra.

"For the Devil King," she said.

(-'0201212102201'-)

Several buildings – or at least the barely-standing ruins of them – collapsed from the tremors of their battle. Davis watched as three of them shot out of the ground and crashed entire miles from their foundation. Gennai dissipated ocean waves that lapped at his feet, instantaneously turning them to steam as it struck his white-hot skin. Black and white flame collided as Demon and Gennai rushed at each other, sparks cascading from their hands.

"I forgot..." Demon grumbled, panting, feet away from an also-panting Gennai, "...that you were once formidable, Flame Homunculus. But it's no matter. SEVEN HEAVENS."

"YOU DARE USE THAT ON ME, SERAPHIMON?" Gennai smashed the seven orbs into the ground with a flick of his wrist. Shooting forward, his hand railed into Demon's stomach. The impact knocked the Endless Lord off his feet and through several fire-struck structures, his brown spikes of fur catching fire. He ignored the seething heat and burst back into action, thwacking Gennai across the face.

Gennai bowled into Demon and grabbed the demon by the wrist, swinging him into the ground. With a low shriek, fire catapulted out of Gennai's hand and burst around Demon, smoking him. He howled, then wrenched himself out of Gennai's grasp to pound his forehead against the human-lookalike's.

"I am not Seraphimon anymore, old friend..." Demon grunted, his eyes flickering purple in the light.

Gennai laughed in a deep, gurgling voice. "You will always be Seraphimon to me... Seraphimon's _shame_... the face of those who have no hope!"

"I have hope," Demon replied, lifting Gennai off the ground. His wings drifted, floating skyward. "I have hope for retribution. For justice. For _vengeance_."

"You will have your vengeance, God of Wrath," Gennai answered, still smiling. "But fear the ones you wronged in the process... for they, too, will have their justice."

"ALGO'S FLAME." Fire engulfed Gennai whole.

"GENNAI!" Izzy screamed, legs straining to take flight.

"Izzy, no!" shouted Momoe, grabbing hold of him to stop him from taking off. The others were gathering now; following their opponents, they watched helplessly as Demon and Gennai fought. "He'll kill you!"

"He's gonna kill Gennai!" Izzy shrieked.

"He's gonna ROAST!" Dianamon said with a shriek of laughter, pelting an ice arrow at Izzy. It struck his shoulder, flipping him through the air.

But as Izzy descended, there was something that woke him from the pain. It was Gennai's scream. Not one of pain, or death; this was a scream of battle.

Torchlight – white and blue – ignited Gennai in a burst of heat, withering Demon's attack. Demon released Gennai's neck with a wince, then moved to whack him; Gennai flipped to dodge it, using a building to catch himself before he could hit soil and flip back into the air. Slashing at the demon, claws made of fire rippled and lanced through Demon's shoulder.

_**WHACK**_. Demon flung to the ground below, cracking open a crater by the impact. **_WHACK_**. Gennai barely had enough time to realize Demon whipped a semi-truck across his face. Gennai hit ground in the crater besides Demon.

Both Gennai and Demon lied sprawled out in their individual craters, panting, listening to each other's breathing and the worms squirming beneath the earth's surface.

"She wouldn't have wanted this," Gennai breathed, staring up at the sky.

Though Demon couldn't see Gennai's face, he had a feeling he was staring at the same cloud. In a voice somehow softer than Gennai's, Demon replied, "...I know."

"She would hate you for this," Gennai continued.

Demon grinned, though he didn't peer away from the cloud. "I know that, too."

"But she'd always forgive you..." Finally, the young-yet-old man groggily sat up in his aperture, rubbing his neck as he tried to work out the kinks. "That was why she was chosen, after all. Her heart. It's not too late to turn back, you know... to honor her memory."

"She was smiling."

Gennai's brow furrowed. "What?"

"She was smiling," Demon replied, "when she died. When they took her from us." He finally looked in Gennai's direction. "I wanted you to suffer when you died, but... I think I'll give you this one last kindness. For her sake, because the Council knows I'll do nothing else for her sake."

Gennai stared blankly at the wall separating him and Demon. Then, with a twinkle of surprise, he smiled warmly. "Thank you, old friend."

"_**ALGO'S FLAME**_."

Demon broke through the clay barrier separating them with a drilling burst of black flame and hit Gennai in the shoulder. He crashed through the opposite wall of soil and flung up to the surface, where he flipped off the drill of black flame and smothered it with his white fire. Clapping his hands together, a Labyrinth of fire coiled like a serpent among the city streets, burning Leviamon, Dianamon, Bagramon, and Demon simultaneously. Smashing his palms against the concrete, white fire and even white magma spewed from the cracks in the ground, filling the void of concrete with a sea of lava and smoking flame.

"Gennai, you don't have to fight this," came Leviamon's booming voice.

Gennai stared up at the enflamed giant. "What do you mean? You want me to just step back and let you take away the only thing I have left? The only family of mine who remains...?"

"Or you'll die," Leviamon answered. "I don't want to fight you."

"Would you sit back, Leviamon?" Gennai replied. Leviamon fumbled. "If you could go back in time, would you allow MetalSeadramon to slaughter your clan? Sit back and watch, if it meant your safety at the cost of those you love? No. You would fight, and die, and smile. This isn't a chessboard, Leviamon. This is real life! Now FIGHT ME, ENDLESS ENVY GOD."

A living boulder of magma, Leviamon burst forth on all fours, his twin tails swinging through the fray, illuminated by blue flame. Gennai absorbed the cracked magma and whipped around just in time to hurl it in Bagramon's face as he appeared behind him. Swiftly Gennai ducked one of Dianamon's arrows, but hadn't expected her knuckles to connect with his jaw. He swung into Demon, but caught his balance before the digimon and twisted around, fist colliding with Demon's gut.

Fire enveloped his hand as it connected with Demon's fur, igniting the giant's body. Demon howled, erupting into a bulge of black fire that surged in Gennai's direction. Gennai ducked, swerved; Bagramon threw a red-hued attack at Gennai's back, he dodged it and flung Bagramon into a buckling Dianamon. Leviamon's jowls snapped open to clamp down on Gennai, but he reached up and grabbed the behemoth's rotted lips before they could touch.

Cracking his back, Gennai flipped backwards, taking the island-large beast with him. Leviamon crashed against the ocean, smothering the water. Tsunamis spilled further into the sea, washing ashore and splatter floods into the streets. Wincing and rubbing his back in an undignified manner, Gennai incinerated the water with his heat, forming a fog of steam. In the white mist, he could only see subtle movements; silhouettes in phantom veil.

Sometimes there was a light. Red or blue or black. Sometimes he was able to catch Leviamon's tail before it smashed against him. He used an entire broken-in-half washed-to-shore cruise ship as a barricade from Leviamon's attacks, but the impact pushed both him and the cruise ship at least a mile back. Flipping through the air, Gennai bit back his tongue.

_I can summon..._

_No!_

_My Golems haven't rested up enough from that battle with Myotismon, Wisemon, and Deathmon. They're still too weak... I can't put them through another fight... They are still regenerating..._

Dianamon and Bagramon launched at once. Dianamon swiped her hand through the air, clearing the vapor with a single motion. Bagramon leaped. Red whips screeched against the road as he upturned miles of concrete and rubble, ripping the ground up from under Gennai's feet. As Gennai flew, he dove to avoid Dianamon's volley of arrows – enough to blot out the sky – and rose his hands to the heavens, forming a shield of flame to melt the ones he couldn't avoid.

Forming a serpent beneath the ground, its tongue slithered from the cracks in the craters and wrapped around Bagramon and Dianamon's ankles. _**CRACK**_. The tongue smacked them against each other, then aimed each of them at Leviamon's eyes. Leviamon hissed, biting at them.

"Ah, ah! Don't eat me!" Dianamon shrieked, whapping Leviamon on the nose. "Bad, Levvy, bad!"

"_**DIANAMON**_**,**_" _Leviamon roared, nipping at her. She giggled at him and rushed back in Gennai's direction, ignoring her comrade's blatant annoyance.

Leviamon darted in Gennai's direction. He redirected Leviamon into Demon, then grabbed Leviamon by one of his tails and twisted it around Bagramon, kicking the knotted fallen angel into a taking-aim Dianamon. Demon slashed at Gennai, but a white light enveloped Gennai's hand and canceled out Demon's attack.

"_**ENOUGH!"**_ Demon bellowed, bludgeoning Gennai in the side of his head.

Gennai flipped through the air against the impact, unable to stop himself. He hit rubble, coughing; struggling to stand, Gennai looked up with a pale face at his four opponents.

"You have done enough damage!" Demon snarled. _**WHACK**_. Spittle flew from Gennai's mouth as Demon smacked him. "This ends now!"

"NO!" With a sizzle, electricity lanced through Demon's shoulder. He growled and snapped his attention back to Izzy, who bellowed forward, wings – the final two not dissolved by Demon's attack – billowing in the wind. Throwing electrical storm after electrical storm, twin beams of wires flew in Demon's direction. Soon after, the other Destined joined him, throwing attack after attack at Demon.

"Leviamon, end this, too," Demon said with a snarl, lifting his lip.

Leviamon opened his mouth wide and consumed every attack. With a whip of his tail, the Destined were blown back into the ocean, falling through the waves. Izzy watched the bubbles foam over his head, lurching to the surface, creating ripples on a gloss reflection. His eyes snapped open. Kicking furiously, Izzy ascended the waves and tore his fingers into the sand, climbing back to the shore and fighting to return to Gennai's side.

Gennai clapped his hands together. Fire spewed from the cracks in his fingers and unfurled toward Demon.

_**CRACK**_. Gennai's attack was disturbed by a blade that lanced through his shoulder. Pinned to the rubble wall behind him, Gennai looked up with wide eyes at his attacker.

It wasn't Demon, or Leviamon, or Dianamon or Bagramon.

"GENNAI!" Izzy was screaming, but he knew it was over. Leviamon took one glance at the small boy and smashed his double-tails into the beach, tearing his balance in half. The others were clambering out of the water now, soaked and shivering, trying to reach Gennai.

"_**GENNAI!**_"

Gennai was staring into the eye of a boy. Could have been one of the twelve home-grown Destined he raised from the ashes, but Gennai knew this boy was none of his. He was tall, with rectangular glasses and gritty, smeared lens. His hair was a lighter shade of blue, swaying slightly with the breeze.

For a second – just for one – Gennai thought he was looking into the eyes of the Digimon Emperor.

As he realized who his opponent was, Gennai ducked his head and snickered. "I should have known..."

"You shouldn't have allowed my brother to enter the Digital World all those years ago," the young man said, his voice low, crackling, yet there was a smile behind it... a dangerous smile.

Gennai looked up at Bagramon, rather than the boy. "I should have known you would go this far. Still playing with dead souls, are we? It's good to see some things haven't changed."

Bagramon smiled proudly.

"Sam...?" the broken voice came from the shore, where a soaked and shivering Ken furrowed his brow.

The boy hesitated, then turned fully around to view the Destined of Kindness. With a grin, Sam held up the double-bladed scythe in his hand— "G'morning, brother," Sam said, and plunged it further into Gennai's shoulder. "I know it's a few years too late, but I finally brought those straws for you."

One hand still clutching the scythe, Sam peeled back the satchel on his side and tossed Ken a box of straws. They hit the white sand. The grains scattered.

"Now go blow bubbles, little bro," Sam whispered. Ken paled.

"_**GENNAIIIIIIII!**_" Izzy screamed, hand outstretched.

Sam yanked out the double-bladed scythe—

and swiped it right into Gennai's middle, severing his torso from his waist.

Gennai's eyes widened for a second, his hands fumbling. His eyes betrayed the confusion in his mind, the static, the befuddled wonder as he stared down at the blade. How many centuries had he awaited this moment? Never had he thought it would come at the hand of a human child— at least, _this_ human child...

But then again, maybe there was no better way for him to go.

Izzy sank to his knees.

A breath caught in Joe's throat (_**Pressure the wound. Pressure the wound. You're a doctor, aren't you?**_).

Tai screamed. Piximon came to mind for him. Then Leomon. Then Whamon and Chuumon and all the others who had died for them. How many dead digimon had aided them, trained them, gave them strength...? Gennai had been their mentor, their guide through it all.

"Is this why you came here?" Demon muttered, looking into Gennai's eyes. "...To die?"

Gennai stared silently at the Endless One, the Demon Lord, the Fallen Angel of Wrath. Then, pleasantly, as he always did, Gennai smiled big enough that his eyes closed.

"I came here," Gennai replied, "to make a Soul Contract."


	34. I&XXXIV: The Two Worlds

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Calling to the Night" by Natasha Farrow

(-'20320202030'-)

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXXIV**

... The Two Worlds ...

As Gennai smiled pleasantly at his opponents, he thought about the vast world of his past. Oh, how long had he lived? It seemed as though the universe had shrunk somehow, but all the laws of science and physics and logic told him it had, in fact, expanded.

In a way, it intrigued Gennai. Sometimes, because he'd lived so long, he thought he knew and experienced all there was to know and experience. While some things were out of his reach of comprehension, the universes and all their parallels had whispered all their secrets to his listening ears, and yet... because the universe was always shifting, always morphing, always growing, Gennai knew there would always be something new to discover.

The universes had changed greatly from their genesis to Gennai's death. And now they would go on changing without him.

He smiled the only way an old, kind grandfather could as he remembered another shred of his past.

"_Ah, ah! Mister Gennai?" asked a little girl, peering up at his face._

_Gennai blinked down at her, taken aback by her sudden friendliness. She smiled up at him, her dark hair falling in spirals along her head, her bright blue eyes big enough to fit oranges. "Thank you for choosing us!" she said, revealing her missing front tooth as she smiled through her words. "I always knew me and my brother were meant for something bigger."_

"_Yeah, thanks, Mister Gennai!" said the little boy beside her, with a grin as big as his twin sister's._

"_We won't let you down!" voiced another girl, this one redheaded and green-eyed, with a saccharine voice that, though sweet, filled the room with a mirthful heat._

_On both her sides were two more boys. The older-looking of the two grabbed the dark-haired girl's hand and gave a firm nod, but kept silent. The other had taken to stepping away from them and adding, "I've never won anything before... thank you, Mister Gennai. I now know my purpose."_

_Gennai was astonished. He didn't quite know why, but he was. The five children then laughed and rushed off toward a meadow of flowers, butterflies fluttering from the petals. A cliffside bowed over the edge of the meadow, supporting a tall, pointed lighthouse that sifted light into the shifting ocean. Unable to put his emotions into words, Gennai chose to simply watch the children play._

_Still directing his attention toward the three, his voice paid heed to a sixth figure who hadn't rushed into the meadow. "Why aren't you joining them?" he asked the sixth figure._

_The sixth figure hesitated, then replied, "Because... I'm scared. I want to be strong like them, but I don't think I can be. I think... you made a mistake, choosing me."_

_Gennai raised an eye ridge. "And why do you believe that?"_

"_Because I'm the only one who isn't playing."_

"**Soul Contract, eh...?"**

Bagramon's disembodied voice broke Gennai out of the memory. Demon's expression had gone stiff, Dianamon giggling into her sleeve while Leviamon's claws dug into the earth. Gennai had the distinct feeling that Bagramon hadn't said a single word out loud, but that his fellow Endless Ones could hear every word he said.

A dark ooze spilled out of Bagramon's eyes, nostrils, and lips, careening around his body and arching above his neck. Three Cerberus heads burst from the blackness, three pairs of red-glowing fetus-eyes blaring in the darkness as they leered at Gennai. He stooped over the young-but-old man, his darkness expanding like the universe as his shadow-body stretched onto all-fours, then massive scale. Neck extending like a rubber band, Bagramon whirled around Gennai's body without touching him.

Gennai was sure he could hear Izzy and Tai screaming for him nearby. He could see Ken at the corner of his eye, pale and soaked and catatonic. Izzy jumped into view, slashing at his opponents. Swarms of Hangyomon surfaced from the ocean, crying out attacks. All of it fell on Gennai's deaf ears, even as the Destined and the Hangyomon clashed. Several of the diver-digimon dissolved into data. Izzy ripped into them and continued in his march, knocking back every opponent in a careless, brutal manner. It was almost uncharacteristic of him.

Leviamon's tail clubbed Izzy into a crowd of Hangyomon. He tore into them with sabers made of wire, his teeth clenched and bloodstained.

That was when Bagramon's darkness swallowed Gennai whole.

In the blackness, those red eyes glowed, stirring in the mirthless depths.

"Tell me," Gennai began. "You're planning to keep the Destined – or at least the majority of them – alive. But their world... this Earth, and the Digital World sewn to its helm... You plan on destroying it, don't you?"

A red-glowing grin accompanied Bagramon's red-glowing gaze. That was all the answer Gennai needed.

"And all this fighting... this battle with the Destined, it's all so _unnecessary_... One of you four alone has the strength to wipe out this entire world and all worlds attached to it, so what is the point of showing your faces, of revealing yourselves, of humoring the Destined. It was to lure me in, wasn't it?" Gennai's head bowed. "Because you know I am the only one who can figure out what you're planning. I'm the only one who remembers her. And if I figure it out, so do the Council... and all plans of overthrowing the weavers of destiny will be for naught. So... the next stepping stone in Demon's plot is me. To destroy one last obstacle.

"This world... these people and digimon...

"They have no point, no purpose in your scheme. I'd try to convince you to leave this world and its Digital World because of that, to take refuge somewhere else, but I know it's pointless. This was _Their_ home universe, after all. That was the point of choosing this world, this parallel..."

"**You've figured out this much already, have you? Well, you did see Deathmon's flesh. He is turning to char."** Bagramon replied, his red-glowing grin unwavering. **"Demon really wasn't lying. You're phenomenal. But also incredibly stupid. You came all this way, even knowing it was a trap."**

"It's because it was a trap that I came," Gennai replied.

One of the disembodied eyes widened, the other shrinking. It gave the impression of Bagramon's raised brow.

Gennai chuckled. "You think I'd simply surrender my soul to you, no conditions? That's not the way Soul Contracts work, Anubismon."

_**SCRREEEEECH**_

Gennai was blown back by the force of Bagramon's darkness. It took the shape of bloody-red claws that slashed at Gennai's already severed body, clawing at his flesh, drawing blood. Gennai didn't wince or cry out, he simply chuckled.

Bagramon howled, **"YOU DARE CALL ME BY THAT NAME?"**

"The fallen angel of death..." Gennai whispered, still chuckling. "The god who fell to his knees before the cherry tree, half his body gone, begging for mercy from his master... the cherry tree who took pity on him... the doctor Mephistomon who stole the death angel's soul in compensation... Anubismon. Mephistomon. Jureimon. That is who you are, hiding behind a demon's mask.

"I dare call you by that name. I dare call you by all those names.

"Now take my soul, Anubismon! Mephistomon! Jureimon! And in return, you will guarantee the safety of not only those children who witness my death, but the worlds connected to them! TAKE MY SOUL, DO NOT DESTROY THESE TWO WORLDS!"

Ah, now he could hear it. In-between the resounding thumps of his faint heartbeat, Izzy's voice was echoing in the blackness, the depthless cosmos that tugged at Gennai's conscience. Izzy was nearby now, pounding into enemies, reaching out for the darkness that had consumed his mentor. Gennai was sure Izzy could not see him, but that didn't matter.

All that mattered was staring into Bagramon's laughing eyes, and the laughing mouth that accompanied them.

"**That's all...? Geh heh heh... _YOUR SOUL IS MINE, FLAME HOMUNCULUS GENNAI!"_**

Gennai squeezed his eyes shut. _"Deliver them safely from harm..."_ he whispered, knowing Demon and Leviamon could hear him, knowing they would listen.

Bagramon wrapped around Gennai's body.

"I want to know one last thing, Anubismon. Mephistomon. Jureimon."

Bagramon chuckled, triumphant. "And what is that?"

"The Enigma Evolution," Gennai replied, feeling his soul drain from his body. "Was it Demon and Leviamon who unlocked it?"

"Us..." Bagramon's grin wavered. Then he replied, "No. It was not the Demon Lords who unlocked the Enigma Evolution. We do not know who it was. But it certainly helps us out, doesn't it?"

Through Bagramon's snickers, Gennai found himself grinning as well, his eyes slowly closing. _Ah..._ he thought. _So it wasn't Demon or Leviamon either. And if it wasn't the Council, that leaves only one other possibility..._

_It is unfortunate that it took my death to realize the true culprit._

(-'1010201010201'-)

"_**GENNAAAAAAAI!**_"

"IZZY!" Momoe screamed, but too late.

Just as Izzy's fingertips grazed the darkness absorbing Gennai, Sam grabbed him by the wrist and plowed him into the ground, heel cracking his spine in-between his shoulder blades. Izzy grimaced, biting back a hiss, and attempted to shove the older boy off of him. Sam was adamant, however, and slammed his heel back down.

"Get... off... _**ME!**_" One of Izzy's wire-sabers surged forward and slashed at Sam's face.

"No!" Ken cried, taking the hit for Sam. Sam's eyes briefly widened, but he then knocked Ken several paces away with a swift _**THWACK**_ and grabbed Izzy by the front of his bloody, ripped shirt.

"It's OVER," Sam growled, throwing Izzy in the black orb's direction.

As soon as Izzy's body struck black, however, it dissipated, revealing behind it Gennai's motionless, still-standing body.

Izzy's eyes widened as his knees thumped against the concrete. His pale face tipped toward Gennai, his voice weakened as he whispered Gennai's name.

"Izzy...?" Gennai whispered back with a blank expression. Slowly, his mirthless, emotionless eyes turned in Izzy's direction as well. "My... son..."

Izzy was crying, his arms limp at his sides.

A smile ebbed at the corners of Gennai's lips. "At least, I wish you had been my son... Take care."

_**CRRRAAAAACK**_

As though being severed in half weren't enough, blood splattered Izzy's face as Sam's doubled-bladed scythe slid through Gennai's back and out of his front, chinking his sternum and piercing his lungs, pulverizing his heart and shredding his ribs.

"Overkill!" Dianamon laughed.

Gennai continued smiling for a second, then the twinkle in his old, ancient, young, newborn eyes faded.

He fell just as limp against the blade as Izzy was before him.

Tai and Sora were the next to reach Gennai, hands outstretched. Tai screamed, his voice rattling the depths of Izzy's consciousness as he tried to pull Gennai away from Sam. But Izzy had seen death already, he knew when it was too late.

Izzy remained immobile, feeling the warm blood drip down his face and trickle to his knees like tears.

(-'10201012010'-)

As Gennai fell limp against Sam's blade, he smiled.

_I can be happy now..._

_I have repented for my sins... for allowing this travesty to continue so long._

_It is a shame that I must die now, leaving behind my physical trappings, just as I have gained the courage to finally move forward..._

_My only regret is that my mistakes have fallen on the shoulders of this generation to correct._

_And yet, I could not be prouder of you all, my Destined... my children._

(-'102010201002'-)

"_**I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!**_" Tai _and _Sora roared as he, Sora, Crusadermon, and Examon charged at Sam. Bagramon flicked his wrist and tore into Tai's middle, throwing him off-balance into a floundering Joe. Kari and TK were rushing now, followed by Mimi and Matt.

"We have no reason to hold back now," Bagramon muttered, crushing one of Minervamon's attacks into dust.

"Gennai has spoken," Leviamon murmured, looking at Demon.

Ever contemplative, Demon looked up at the sky. The clamor of Destined and Demon Lord rung in his ears. He felt so free now... so free, so free! Now there was no one to fear, no one who could ruin his plans. But at the same time, Demon needed Leviamon's allegiance more than anything. If Barbamon was going to be tricky, and Bastemon continued to refuse to make her presence known, and with Lucemon's persistent rebellion, Leviamon's friendship was Demon's most essential arsenal.

If he continued playing with the Destined, if he destroyed this world and its Digital World right before their eyes as one final act of cruelty, it would be denying Gennai's final wish. Furthermore, it would negate the Soul Contract. Though he'd never planned on stealing Gennai's soul, Demon could not deny it could be useful in the future.

This was a tight spot.

If they remained on Earth, they would grow too powerful together. The First Chosen were formidable opponents, and there were merely five of them! But _twelve?_ Demon couldn't allow them to remain together. That was never part of the plan.

Aside from that, what was the point of targeting this world if _all_ they did was assassinate Gennai? They could have just as easily attacked the Digital World. No, the point of arriving on _this_ world at _this_ time was to obliterate it all, to send the biggest "Fuck You" to the Council as possible. They needed to do _something _to this world, this reality, this Digital World.

Ah... of course. Demon was being so silly. The answer was obvious.

"Sam," Demon called. Sam redirected his gaze to the Demon Lord. "Lucesco." The blond-haired man leaped from the top of a nearby collapsed citadel and landed between Sam and Demon. "Mara." The mercury-haired woman climbed out from beneath their feet, her body caked in soil and ash, as she smiled up at both Demon and Bagramon.

"Split them up," Demon commanded.

"I WON'T LET YOU..." Yolei screamed, slashing at Demon. Demon glanced at her from the corner of his eye. She flipped backwards by an invisible force, body colliding with a chunk of debris that crumpled against the force of the collision.

"Yolei!" cried Mantarou and Chizuru, rushing to her side and boosting her up. In the background, Firamon swung at Dianamon, fire billowing from his claws. She blinked at him and dodged each swipe, unsure of his intention.

"Sam, you can't..." Ken whispered, reaching out for his brother.

"YOU FUCKER!" screamed Davis as he launched at Lucesco.

"_**DEMONNN**_," TK shouted, echoing Davis's launch, but instead at Demon.

"Burn everything to the ground," Demon commanded Leviamon, Dianamon, and Bagramon. He grabbed TK by the fist and flung him into Davis, then dodged a punch by Momoe. Jun caught the girl, fumbled with her injured ankle, and fell into TK. "This world... the Digital World... Deathmon will have his darkness. We will have this world. We will have its people and its digimon. And we will imprison it all in the ashes of our reign. After all..." Demon cracked a scarecrow grin. "...Gennai never said we couldn't _rule_ these worlds, simply that we couldn't _destroy_ them."

"My darlings!" commanded a bemused Bagramon. Sam, Lucesco, and Mara snapped to attention, Sam and Lucesco more hesitantly than Mara. "It's time," Bagramon told them. "You have done well in breaking the seal caging Demon. Now you must break the seal between universes. _**DEEPEN THE WOUND OF THE WORLDS.**_"

"_**BURN IT ALL!**_" Demon screamed.

"_**BURN, BURN, BURN!**_" Dianamon shrieked with laughter, unleashing. The ocean ripped into Odaiba. The Destined and their enemies became the pinpoint bottom of a simmering whirlpool that sucked in everything but them. The oceans of the world rose and crashed onto infinite continents; plates beneath the earth shifted, shaking the earth; water tore at the shores, tearing them ravenously apart.

Leviamon's eyes rolled up in the back of his head as he was finally allowed release. Scales rippling, light blue smoke exuded from the cracks between them. Slowly, his body edged in size, growing, growing; soon his head alone was as big as the entire Odaiba island, jaws yawning open as his tail uncurled the length of the sea. And yet he was still too small, far too small!

Bagramon laughed, clapping his hands together. Souls screeched and wailed as they tore at his skin, at his eyes, at his arms and torso and legs as they tried to hatch from their fleshy trappings. His eyes glowing malignant, the dead souls he'd absorbed clawed their way out of his body, ripping off his skin and using it as their own, fumbling to the ground below them like newborn foals. Zombies of the dead swarmed from his body, crawling into the simmering whirlpool without getting swept into its waves, spreading throughout the world as they cannibalized who once might have been their allies and friends.

"Gennai..." Sora whispered, staring at his motionless body. She closed her eyes. For her friend. For her mentor. For the man who was all alone, who might have known her true father. If only he still breathed.

"And you will never know..." whispered Lucesco into her ear, prickling her skin.

Sora twisted around, but Lucesco jumped back just in time, then ducked to avoid Davis's attack.

Mara hopped in front of Cody and leaned down to grab his face between her hands. "Hello, there," she said, leaning forward and kissing his cheek. Chizuru howled in outrage. Cody's eyes widened. He vertically slashed his sword at her, but she jumped back, Lucesco blocking Cody's sword with his own.

Roaring, Lucesco, Sam, and Mara all glowed with a feverish heat. Red, purple, and green flurries of fire and water and darkness and dancing, dervish creatures sundered the air around them. Mara rolled to one point of the whirlpool tip, arrow pointed at the sky. Lucesco stepped opposite of her, sword slashing through the air. Sam jumped at a point between them, their three points encircling the Destined in a pyramid as Sam tipped his scythe to the sky and issued a bright purple light from the tip.

"WE WOUND THE REALMS..." Lucesco screamed.

"WE BREAK THE BARRIERS..." Mara joined.

"_**WE SPLIT THE DESTINED!**_" Sam finished.

As the Destined charged, the ground trembled beneath their feet. Knocked off balance, the Destined looked up at the point shining above them, a crevice in the sky... It curved through the whirlpool, shuddering; then the earth cracked open beneath them.

"What's...?" Davis looked at Kari, who peered back at him.

"Davis..." she whispered, reaching out for him.

Their hands clasped each other's. She then reached for TK, and Matt took hold of TK's other hand. Sora took hold of Matt's, followed by Tai. Yolei shared Cody and Ken, who also held onto Davis. Mimi grabbed Joe, then the sobbing Izzy, who clutched frantically for Momoe. Jun clutched Momoe and Mantarou gripped Jun by the other hand, and Chizuru grabbed her brother by the waist. Shin, barely comprehensive, had brushed the fingertips of Tai, then pulled his hand away to instead stare up at the sky. The digimon encircled their partners, latching onto one another as the ground opened like the jaws of a rabid beast.

In the canyon below, there was nothing but darkness.

A darkness which consumed all the Destined and their partners as the earth swallowed them whole.

(-'10201030101'-)

As the Destined disappeared beneath the Earth, the four Endless Ones and the human Triad hovered above the whirlpool. It dissipated around them, filtering through the city. Demon leaned back, face tipped to the heavens, a grin plastered to his face. Leviamon gave a surly, sullen grunt. Dianamon and Bagramon had taken to laughing and dancing with each other, at least until Dianamon realized what she was doing and promptly kicked Bagramon in the gut.

"Oh, Peach!" Dianamon said, wrapping her arms around Demon. "It's lovely, this triumph..."

For once, Demon didn't chide her for calling him Peach. He simply craned his neck to grin at her and wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her against him.

"Dance, dance, dance!" Mara echoed Dianamon and Bagramon, jumping on Lucesco's back and waving her arms in the air. "Victory, victory, HURRAH!"

"Er, Mara..."

As the third human stepped behind Dianamon, she stiffened and turned to view him. Instead of rushing toward Sam Ichijouji, Dianamon simply smiled. It was warm, and wide, and welcoming.

Holding out her hand, she said, "Finally, we meet, Sam Ichijouji... my other half. My partner."

Instead of shaking her hand, Sam laughed and bear-hugged her. She stumbled, her eyes wide as she repeatedly blinked. "My goodness!" she squeaked.

As the others continued being as loud and obnoxious as they could be, Demon chose to celebrate his victory another way. Jumping up so that he landed on Leviamon's overly-large snout, he stared into the massive eyes of his fellow Demon Lord.

"We've finally done it," Demon said calmly.

Leviamon said nothing, so Demon continued, "Our vengeance has truly begun... now there's no stopping it."

"Lucesco," Leviamon began, turning his gaze in the human boy's direction.

Lucesco looked up at the behemoth with a nod. "Return to my realm," Leviamon said. "Make sure to take good care of the one you find there, won't you?"

Lucesco curtly nodded once again and glowed with a red energy. Ripping another wound in the world, Lucesco disappeared in a gash of bleeding light that faded along with his body. Mara pouted as he disappeared. "Ahhhh, Lucesco gets a cool super secret mission and I'm left here with this no-fun weirdo!"

She thumbed in Sam's direction as he blinked. "Hey now..." He chased after Mara as she giggled and ran away from him.

Demon hadn't taken his eyes off Leviamon. "It's only you and me for now, brother," Demon said. "But soon, the others will join us. Just as they died one-by-one, they will rise one-by-one as well..."

"Yes," Dianamon said beside Demon, and Bagramon hovered on her other side as well. Sam and Mara soon joined them, peering out over the endless landscape upon Leviamon's head. All six of them stared out over the horizon upon the world soon to be devastated.

Sam grinned. "I guess it's time to make the sky cry blood."

Dianamon turned to him with wide eyes. "Ah! That's what I said! We must be soulmates!"

Demon laughed, and held out his hand to the world.

For the first time in his life since the Golden Ages, he was excited for the dawn. The future was finally his.

(-'102011020102'-)

Bastemon watched them from her perch. A smile creased her cheeks.

Oh, the way things would change around here...


	35. I&XXXV: Out Of The Darkness

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Dreaming Wide Awake" by Poets of the Fall

**Author's Note:** And we have reached the penultimate chapter of Saga I! Where did the Endless Ones deposit our young heroes?

(-'20320202030'-)

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXXV**

... Out of the Darkness ...

Darkness.

Tai had always been familiar with darkness. It latched onto him like a plague. Always running, always confused. Though he was someone others could rely on, Tai never truly knew whether or not he could rely on himself. Maybe that was why he and Matt clashed sometimes; Matt always reminded Tai of his own insecurities, of his own faults that only Matt seemed truly aware of.

And maybe that was why he and Agumon had always gotten along so well. Because Agumon did not prey on those fears, or feed them. Agumon had always given Tai his full support, no matter the circumstance, and built Tai up rather than tear him down. With Agumon beside him, Tai had never felt stronger. With Matt beside him, Tai had never felt weaker.

Neither of them were in this darkness with him, though. It was endless, stretching the boundaries of his mind and sinking deep into his flesh.

"_Why can't I be as strong as Tai?"_ said a voice in the black. Tai looked up. Someone was sniffling... Kari? He squinted to see a nearby figure crouched against the ground. _"I'm useless... completely worthless! If only I could be stronger, like my big brother..."_

"You've always been strong, Kari," Tai said, stooping beside her to rest a hand on her shoulder. However, as soon as his fingers brushed skin, the girl who turned her face to him was all but recognizable.

With hair flaring in a mercury-red hue, Kari's eyes and lips had been sewn shut, sutures half an inch thick stitching them together. The sutures fanned out to sew clumps of flesh together along her face and arms and legs.

"Kari?" Tai's voice lowered as the Frankenstein Kari's lips curled up in a grin.

Stitches breaking, Kari opened her lips to reveal a funnel-fanged mouth. _"But then again..."_ she said, _"Not even my brother was strong enough to protect me..."_

Before Tai could react, Kari's head popped off her neck, jaw unhinged, and swallowed Tai's head whole. The last thing Tai heard was a shriek of high-pitched laughter.

(-'10201020210'-)

"Tai! Tai, wake up! Tai!"

"_Five more mins, Mom..."_

"TAI!"

As Tai's vision swam in and out of focus, a blurred, orange blob shifted in front of his eyes. With a start, Tai flung out of his trance and reflexively lashed out. The orange blob ducked, barely avoiding Tai's punch.

Blinking, Tai then realized the orange blob had been his partner digimon, who was panting. "Agumon, don't do that!" he growled. Pause. "Oh crap, Agumon!"

Tai pounced on his partner digimon, colliding with him in a spine-cracking embrace. Agumon whumped against the ground beneath them, blinking, until tears filled his eyes and he wrapped his own paws around Tai.

Until he had seen his partner digimon back in his rookie form, no bloodshed or battle surrounding them, Tai hadn't realized how scared he'd felt. All the terror, the hopelessness, the unending adrenaline had washed away in a surge of warmth that pulsated down his arms and into his chest and trembled to his stomach where it fled to his feet. All fear, desiccated.

His bottom lip wibbling, Agumon ducked his head against Tai's shoulder and pounced back on his partner as well. Tai, too, landed on the ground with a sound thump as Agumon cried, "Waaah! Tai, I love you!"

Tai gave a nervous smile. "I, erm, love ya too buddy, but you're kinda heavy..."

"Waaaah! You love me, too! Waaaah!"

Tai couldn't help but chuckle.

After a couple of seconds, Tai finally pulled away from Agumon and peered around their surroundings. Wherever they were, it definitely wasn't Earth. An aurora of blue color fleeted across the sky like a mirage, as fauna and flora wandered aimlessly across the grassy plain. Tai didn't know what it was, but the Digital World always seemed so much more vivid, so much more detailed than the human world. He could smell things and feel things he couldn't on Earth; the stench of soil was stronger, the honeysuckle in the breeze was potent. The breeze filled his lungs with an easiness that didn't come with the toxic gases which polluted Earth's atmosphere.

At the same time, however, he also had the distinct feeling that he had never been here before. He didn't know if it was because he hadn't seen all parts of the Digital World or if he was simply paranoid, but nothing came to mind of his location.

"Where are we?" he asked, turning to Agumon, whose brow furrowed.

"I'm not sure," Agumon replied, craning his neck to the sky. "You know, ever since I met you, I've been traveling across the entire Digital World... I thought I'd seen everything, but I've never seen this before."

They continued watching in awe as digimon gallivanted across their view, either ignoring the human in their midst or simply dismissing Tai as another digimon. Rookie and in-training digimon gathered at a watering hole, discussing and gossiping in hushed voices neither Agumon or Tai could understand.

They were at a complete blank as to what to do.

Last Tai remembered, he was on Earth, fighting the Endless Ones... then those three kids came out of nowhere and did something to him and the others. He didn't know what it was, all he knew was that it led him here. No, "led" wasn't the right word— more like knocked him out and dragged him to this place, wherever "this place" was. The last thing he remembered was seeing Kari's face as she murmured his name on the tip of her tongue, before they had both faded into the darkness...

Those three figures— who were they? He recognized Lucesco. Though Ken named the boy who killed Gennai as "Sam", Tai wasn't sure who "Sam" was, though it seemed familiar. Wasn't there a renown kid named that back when Tai was little, who was called Japan's Golden Child? A child genius, they called him. But he died a long time ago. But it wasn't as if Sam was an uncommon name; it easily could have been someone else. He also didn't know who the red-haired woman was, but she too had seemed particularly familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd seen her before, just like this land he stood on now...

"I suppose we should start looking for the others," Tai muttered as he stood. Agumon nodded and joined him. "At least one of them should be around here somewhere... I hope."

"Boo boo boo boo..."

_**thunk**_

Tai stumbled as his foot thumped against something on the ground. Agumon blinked, as did Tai, as the two glanced to the ground where they found a tiny digimon lying on his side.

"Boo boo boooo," the digimon muttered sleepily, wiggling against Tai's foot.

Tai gave a curt cough. "Sorry," he said, attempted to remove his foot from the sprawled-out digimon's gut. But when the digimon instead clung to Tai's foot, Tai's curt coughing turned to a choke. "Hey!"

"Boo boo boo," the tiny digimon replied, giving a wide, warm, dopey smile.

Something about the digimon's smile, and his rather iron-clad grip despite his size, reminded Tai of Koromon.

At the same time, the demented-looking creature didn't appear even near-similar to the tiny pink ball that was Agumon's in-training form. Instead, this digimon actually had a pair of tiny, stumpy arms and a pair of tiny legs, accompanied by a tiny, furry body and a pair of tiny red bat-ish wings. If it weren't for the sharp red claws, the small white horns atop its head, and the flicking demon tail, Tai would have dared even call the digimon... _cute._

"Hey there little guy, can you let go of me now?" Tai asked, bowing down to peer more closely at the digimon.

The digimon gave a grumpy frown. "Boooooooo."

Tai gave an exasperated sigh and looked to Agumon for help. His partner shrugged. Tai then looked back at the digimon and asked, "Do you know where we are?"

The digimon gave an unsure nod, his grumpy frown fizzling out to show confusion. Tai raised an eyebrow. "Soooo... where are we?"

The tiny teddy bear-like creature turned from befuddled to warm and nice, giving him that same wide, warm, dopey smile as he buried his face back into Tai's leather shoe. His little legs kicked in the air as he rubbed his cheek against the side of Tai's foot.

Tai sighed again. "Well..." Taking out his digivice, he analyzed the digimon's data and turned to Agumon. "His name is Phascomon. He's a rookie-level digimon. Virus. Says that Phascomon-type digimon are normally passive, but dangerous when provoked."

"Boo boo boo!" the digimon squealed happily with another kick of his legs. "BOOM." Suddenly, Phascomon twisted on his feet and glared at something behind Tai and Agumon. Every hackle on Phascomon's back rose simultaneously, his spine arched, claws spiking the earth.

A low growl rumbled in the back of Phascomon's throat.

"What?" Tai immediately held up his hands in front of his chest. "I didn't do anything!"

"_**Halt**_."

Tai felt something cool and slick press against the back of his head. Tai went stiff and immediately raised both his hands to the sky.

Tai frowned and looked pointedly at Phascomon. "Oh."

Agumon growled, but with a shake of Tai's head, the digimon relented with a sigh and, too, raised his paws.

"Identify yourself," said a voice... possibly the person who was holding a firearm to the back of Tai's head.

Phascomon hissed at the newcomer, scratching at the air but not motioning toward him. "Booo... hsssss..."

"Kamiya Taichi, Junior Consultant of Digimon-Human Relations, Captain of the Japanese DigiDestined," Tai replied, his brow furrowed. "People recognize me mostly from the battle against Diaboromon, Myotismon's many incarnations, the Dark Masters, Apocalymon..."

"..." Silence, then: "...Did you win?"

Tai's brow furrowed, but he didn't dare turn to his opponent. "Excuse me?"

"Boo?" Phascomon blinked. Agumon picked Phascomon up and held the tiny digimon in his arms. Phascomon blinked at the orange dinosaur then snuggled into his shoulder.

The newcomer grunted. "All those battles. Did you win them?"

"Well, yeah..." Tai blinked. "Those are just the battles that were broadcast to a large audience. I also assisted the defeat of Devimon, Etemon, Armageddemon... yadda yadda yadda..."

"Well then... you must be a strong opponent."

Tai's chest swelled with pride. "Hah! The best!"

"Oh, Tai..." Agumon sighed. Phascomon nodded and pumped his fist.

"Hmmm... and I see you've chosen an Agumon, too..." The voice began. Tai felt relief as the firearm moved away from his cranium. "You must be a fan."

"...'_Chosen'?_" Tai began to turn around. "...'_**Fan'**_?!"

The voice didn't answer his question but instead continued, "I was going to arrest you, but I'll break a deal with you. If you win in a fight against me, I'll let you roam free! Let's see who is the strongest. Right, Agumon?"

"Right!" said Agumon's voice, but Agumon was right in front of Tai! And he hadn't said a word. Even Tai's Agumon himself looked confused. Phascomon tilted his head to the side.

Tai turned around, and was even more surprised to find a young man he didn't recognize. He thought he'd familiarized himself with most of the other Destined, especially those who knew Japanese... But the entire last few days had held plenty of surprises great and small for Tai, so he didn't know why this astonished him.

The young man was tall – taller than Tai, but at least 18-years-old as well – with shoulder-length hair and a ponytail tied to the top of his head. His partner, an Agumon like Tai's, had leather straps straddling his paws and a fierce glint in his eye.

"Nice to meet you, Kamiya Taichi," the boy said, grinning, raising his fist. "My name... is Daimon Masaru."

With that, orange data swarmed around his knuckles.

(-'1023010201'-)

Sora awoke to the bustle of several blurry figures in front of her. With a wince, she sat up, glancing at the falling white sheet that had covered her body. _Where...?_ she thought, when a voice interrupted her: "Oh, you don't have to sit up yet!"

She looked up to see a blond-haired woman in a blue uniform. "Just relax. We found you and Biyomon stranded in the Digital World. How the heck did you get there, anyway?"

"Don't pester her right now, Megumi," said a darker-haired woman. For a second, Sora thought it might have been an older and more mature Yolei, except for the cool resolve that guided her movements. As she looked at Sora, she smiled sadly and said, "My name is Miki. We weren't able to save your arm, but we've done everything in our power to help with your other wounds. It seems you've got some DigiSoul... it's been regenerating your wounds, too."

"DigiSoul?" Sora blinked, then furrowed her brow. "Where am I?"

Both girls blinked back at her, then at each other. Megumi – the blond one – was the first to answer Sora's question. "You mean you have a partner digimon and you don't even know where this is? It's DATS headquarters!"

"DATS? What's DATS?"

Miki frowned. "I thought after the Belphemon and Yggdrasil ordeal, everyone was aware of DATS... Hm."

"Belphemon?" Sora tilted her head to the side. "Yggdrasil...?"

Then it hit Sora. The darkness that had clutched at her before she woke up in this room, the odd emotions stirring at the bottom of her chest— could it be? No, it couldn't...

"We did pick up something odd about you, though," Miki continued, turning to a computer screen across the room. Sora watched her for a couple of seconds as she clicked through several screens. "You're part-data."

"Part-data?" Sora buried her face in her hands. "None of this makes sense... DATS... Yggdrasil... I wanna go home... I want to see my mom and dad... where's Biyomon? Where's Matt and Tai and Gabumon and Agumon? Mimi? Mimi, are you there? Joe, Izzy?"

"Biyomon is in the waiting room," Megumi said with a pleasant smile.

"Matt... Matt... hmm..." Miki turned from the screen. "Does he have a Gabumon?"

Sora's face snapped in Miki's direction. She went on, "We picked up a blond kid just a couple hours ago. He was in pretty bad shape, his partner said his name was Matt. The guy kept calling out for someone named TK, but we haven't found anyone matching this name... though we also picked up coordinates for another odd anomaly not unlike the same area where we found you and 'Matt'. We sent out Masaru to check it out, but..."

Miki and Megumi both hopelessly sighed in an irritated fashion.

Why? Sora's brow furrowed. Anomalies? She didn't understand their odd lingo, but obviously they had technology she had never even thought existed. Maybe this was the stuff Izzy and her father had been working on in the lab back home... or maybe her worst fears were being confirmed right before her eyes. And what about this anomaly? Could it be they picked up the coordinates for another one of her friends?

"Matt... where is he?" Sora stood on wobbly legs. Grabbing the white sheet that had fallen to the floor, she wrapped it around her bare body and headed for the door. "I need to see him... I have to make sure he's okay..."

"He's being treated right now, you have to stay here until we've run through all the tests," Miki replied.

"No, I have to see him..." Sora whispered, her hand clasping the doorknob.

She heard a metal tinkering. Next thing she knew, a small, knight-armored digimon had blocked the door with his spear, looking up at her through the metal cage of his helmet.

"PawnChessmon can't let you see Matt right now," Miki repeated. "Now let us finish those tests to make sure you're okay. People don't just pop up out of nowhere in the Digital World. We keep track of every single portal between worlds, and not one has been accessed within the last 24 hours... excluding when we sent out agents to retrieve you, Biyomon, Matt, and Gabumon, and now this new stranger. Where did you four come from, anyway? Even though you have partner digimon and were in the Digital World, Satsuma was unable to find you in the database... this has never happened before."

"Database...?" Sora's head felt heavy. All she wanted to do was go home and soak in the bath. Moan a little bit over her lost arm, then curl up on the couch and fall asleep watching some silly, cell-killing, mind-numbing comedy on TV.

No. She had to get a hold of Matt, of Biyomon. She had to find Tai. If she found Tai, everything would be alright— he'd know what to do. And what about the battle? Had they defeated their enemies? All she remembered was the darkness... she must have gotten hit and knocked out. Were her friends able to stop the Endless Ones? She was still alive, so they must have done _something._

"I thought you said not to pester her, Miki!" Megumi pouted. Miki smiled nervously, "Right, right... My curiosity got the better of me!"

"He's with Thoma right now," Megumi said gently, attempting to guide Sora back to the bed. "We'll let you see him when Thoma's done."

"No... Now." Sora jerked her shoulder away from Megumi and smashed her fist into PawnChessmon's helmet. Shadows fled out of her palm and bludgeoned the digimon several feet aside. She then tore the door open and rushed down the hallway, ignoring the din of shouting voices behind her.

Matt... Matt... _Matt_...

"SORA!" screamed a familiar voice. Biyomon rose from a Tommy boy in the waiting room, latching onto Sora. The Destined paused only to receive Biyomon's embrace, tears filling her eyes.

"Oh, Biyomon..." Sora sobbed. "C'mon, let's go find Matt!"

"I saw them bring him in," Biyomon replied, guiding her partner in the opposite direction.

(-'10201030103'-)

Miki and Megumi blinked and glanced at each other. Megumi then giggled. "I thought Masaru was the only human who was stupid enough to attack a digimon one-on-one!"

Miki ignored her more giggly friend and rushed to the aid of her partner, who had taken to leaning against the wall, the air knocked out of him.

(-'102010201'-)

"Don't move."

It was the first thing Matt heard as he blearily opened his eyes to see the hazy world around him. The only things he could make out were the surrounding white walls and the dark-colored instruments pressed up against them. Even then, he couldn't distinguish the instruments as anything but desks and the equipment set atop them, or at least that's what he guessed.

Matt groaned. A sharp pang shot up his neck and webbed the back of his skull, where each leg sunk in like claws. Even if he wanted to move, he wouldn't have been able to.

"I don't know who or what you are," the voice said, examining Matt's wounds, "but whatever you are, you have wounds no human could survive. But then... the same could be said for that other human we found in the Digital World."

Other human? What other human? And what was he talking about? Anyone who was involved in the Digital World – at least enough to know what humans were, or could travel between the worlds – knew his face. Hell, half of Japan alone knew his face just as the lead singer of The Teenage Wolves, much more as one of the top 12 Destined of Japan...

Where was Gabumon?

The man – blond, blue-eyed; Matt had regained enough consciousness to make out a stern, firm expression as he looked over an arrow head in Matt's ankle – seemed to read Matt's mind as he said, "Your partner digimon is fine. In better shape than you are, in fact, though he has the same exact wounds... just better endurance. A couple of Digimon Medical Specialists are looking over him at this very moment. This is absolutely fascinating, though I must admit I have no clue how you appeared in the Digital World so suddenly, or how your partner has the exact same wounds, or, for that matter, how you have the ability to heal so quickly. Where did you come from...?"

Before Matt could reply – or even attempt – another figure burst through the door, a pink-feathered digimon hovering beside her. Matt craned his neck to see Sora out of the corner of his eye, his blond hair falling over his face. He tried to smile, but his lips were too stiff.

"MATT." Sora reached out for him with her only remaining arm, Biyomon hurdling in the blond man's direction to stop him from blocking Sora's charge.

"ROLLING UPPER," cried another voice. A ball of blue fur hurled into Biyomon, knocking her off-course. With a swift movement, the ball uncurled to reveal a wolf-like creature with bright red boxing gloves.

Before the wolf-like creature could do further damage to the surprised Biyomon, the blond boy coolly raised his hand. "That's alright. Let them through."

The man gave one glance at Sora before stepping back, allowing her to grab Matt by the hand and stoop over him, checking briefly to see if he was okay before she turned to the boy. "Your name is Thomas, right? Is Matt going to be okay?"

"Should be," Thomas replied, scratching his chin. "At the risk of sounding like Kurata, though, I'm highly curious... just where are you folks from?"

"Odaiba," Sora replied, her brow furrowing. "How come no one recognizes us? Matt!"

Matt let out a low groan as he attempted to sit up. Thomas raised his eyebrows. "I told you not to do that. You'll pull out your stitches."

"Tai...?" Matt managed to mutter.

Sora's brow furrowed. "I don't know... I just woke up here..." She sighed and glanced to the white sheet covering Matt's body. "I'm worried. Thomas," she turned to the boy, "what happened to the battle? Where is everyone? Did you manage to defeat the Endless Ones?"

"Endless Ones...?"

Sora's eyes filled with tears. "Where is everyone! Why can't any of you understand what I'm saying! Even though we're all speaking Japanese here, it's like I'm speaking a foreign language with you all! Where the hell are we?"

"In another world," answered a warm, firm voice from the doorway.

Sora twisted around to see a familiar face staring back at her.

"We're a long way from home, ladies and gents," Tai continued, nursing a black eye, his hand resting on the head of his beat-up Agumon. A brown-furred digimon clung to Tai's shoulder, fast asleep, his snores like a purr.

"Tai?" Sora smiled as he entered the room, battered but alive. Behind him, a boy about their age with longer hair was grinning, another Agumon standing beside him.

Thomas sighed as he saw Tai's black eye. "Marcus," he said with a pointed tone, "could you at least _try_ not to make more trouble for me?"

Marcus gave a careless grin and shrugged. "It was fun! This guy's really weird!"

"Weird, huh?" Matt mumbled from his bed. Tai was grinning as well. "You don't know the half of it."

(-'10201020102'-)

The arrival of Tai, Agumon, Matt, Gabumon, Sora, and Biyomon in the world had awakened something within Duftmon and Cranniumon, something distant, something all of them had remembered as a far-off dream, not quite real but not quite unreal either. All their lives, they had struggled to remember the significance of their past, but never before had it reached them. Yggdrasil wouldn't allow it to. "Too painful," it'd told them.

Duftmon – reborn – crouched beside Cranniumon, who stared out over the vast Digital World.

"And here we thought," Cranniumon mused, "we would get our happy ending. Our fresh start."

"Things are certainly about to change," Duftmon added, staring up at the sky. Clouds were foaming, atmospheric seaspray spreading over the bleak dusky horizon.

"Ramifications will soon be made for the sins of the past."

(-0102010201012-)

Davis was floating in the darkness.

He didn't know for how long, or why, or how he got himself into this situation. He strained his mind to remember, but he couldn't. All that filled his head was the deep black, painted over his mind, blotting every voice and every face that had ever filtered it.

At least until he saw Kari. She was smiling sadly at him. "Wake up, Davis," she whispered.

"Kari?"

"You have to wake up," she urged, slowly floating further and further from him. He ran, and ran, and tried to catch up to her, but the quicker he ran the sooner she faded. "I promise...

"I'll see you again, Motomiya."

(-'1020102010'-)

A thick copper stench drenched the air.

_**Crnchcrnchcrnch**_

"Davis, wake up," whispered a strained, frantic voice. He recognized that voice. Wasn't it Chizuru's? What was Chizuru doing in his dream? "_Wake up_," she begged, voice breaking.

_**Crnchcrnchcrnch**_

"Don't hurt him!" cried another voice, this one belonging to Cody.

The cry for help brought Davis to his senses. He snapped awake, immediately jumping to his feet and wildly, blindly swinging his fist. Though the world was a cloud of mixed colors, he fought viciously with the air as his vision began to clear. "I'm awake!" he announced, continuing to swing aimlessly. "Cody, where are ya?! I'll protect ya, buddy! Davis Motomiya is on the job!"

_**thump**_

Whoever was making the crunching noise dropped something heavy against the ground. Davis swung in the direction of the noise, but missed his target by a hairline.

All he could tell was that the figure was wearing black clothes, and had red-glowing eyes.

"Davis, look out!" shouted Cody.

"You idiot!" Chizuru cried. "Watch where you're swinging!"

But it was too late. The pale-skinned, helmet-wearing figure grunted and elbowed Davis in the gut – before Davis could hit Chizuru instead by accident – then pelted him into his knee. As Davis's skull cracked against the figure's kneecap, Davis saw sparks scattershot across his vision.

"Aaaaand there goes our last hope..." Chizuru grunted disdainfully. Cody sighed.

"Veemon...?" Davis groaned in a confused voice. "Veemon, where are you?"

He looked around for a blurry blue shape, but couldn't find any. _Oh right, Darkdramon..._ but even then, there wasn't any bulky dark green armored creatures with pink hair lurking about, just this man-shaped, black-clothed, helmet-wearing, red-eyed, _three_-eyed, gun-slinging, pale-skinned, tail-wagging jack-off!

"WHERE'S MY PARTNER?" Davis demanded, taking another dizzy swing. Was this one of the Endless Ones he was facing? God, he couldn't see anything... he'd been in that darkness so long, the light stung his eyes.

"Partner, eh...?" the figure echoed, dodging the fist and knocking his arm into Davis's chin, throwing the human off-balance. "Yous three dummies Tamers or sometin'?"

"Tamers...?" Cody shook his head. "We're Destined. Please don't hurt Davis. He's a bit of an idiot, but he doesn't deserve to die for that... and also, please, _please_ don't hurt our partners!"

_Our partners are in danger too...?_ Davis's bloodshot eyes focused. All at once, the myriad of colors transformed into a blood-soaked landscape. Rubble and debris unfurled from the ground at their feet, soaked in smoke and tepid rainwater. Copper and perspiration clung to the air, remnants of a storm and battle only minutes past.

Veemon, Armadillomon, and Snatchmon were lying unconscious beneath a collapsed wall, paint chipped and curling off its sallow and scorched boards. Cody had taken to unsheathing the Dynasty Blade and pointing it in the offending digimon's direction while Chizuru stood hapless in front of their unmoving partners.

Davis realized the heavy thing in the figure's hands – the heavy thing which he'd dropped after making all those crunching noises – was the carcass of a half-eaten Ogremon.

"What in the HELL?"

_**CRACK**_ The figure's elbow popped against Davis's nose, flinging him into the ground. Choking, Davis's eyes widened as he stared up at the figure.

Cody was limping. Chizuru was injured. Their digimon were knocked out. Davis could feel his insides ache from the wounds of their past battle. He hardly had energy to stand, much less activate the Enigma Evolution and fight their newfound enemy.

The figure pointed the snout of his gun directly at Davis's forehead. Davis's unrelenting glare creased his brow. He wouldn't wince, he wouldn't give his enemy the satisfaction of fear— just the knowledge of defiance.

"Destined... Tamers... dey're both jus' humans who work wit' a specific digimon, ain't dey?" asked the figure.

"Yes!" Cody answered immediately.

"Hmph." The figure sheathed his rifle in its holster and glanced to a nearby motorcycle that rumbled loudly. It whirred into the sweltering-hot night and took off, screeching to a halt directly behind its master. The sentient vehicle boomed, beckoning the figure to get on.

"I guess I won' kill you lil pipsqueaks," the figure went on. "But only if ya help me out wit' sometin'... C'mon, get on. Bring dose lil shits ova dhere, too." He gestured toward their partners. "Name's Beelzemon, by da way."

"But... there's only room for one," Cody said in a quiet voice, nodding to the booming motorcycle.

"One Beelzemon?" Beelzemon raised an eyeridge at Cody. "Damn straight dhere's only room fo' one me! No one do what I do."

"No, one person!" Cody pointed his forefinger at the bike.

"Oh." The figure shot a toothy smirk at Cody. "Is dhere?"

The motorcycle gave another loud rumble. Then its red metal chinked, leather seat twitching fervently. With a groan, the bike extended several seats over, giving them enough room to join Beelzemon. Davis gawked.

"But... but..." Davis smacked his forehead. "Right. Digital World. Right. Just shut-up, self."

"Where are we?" Chizuru asked as she tried to help a half-concussed Snatchmon to his feet.

"Da Digital World," Beelzemon grunted. "What are ya, blind or jus' stupid?"

"This isn't the Digital World," Davis replied. "It's too... grim."

The Endless Ones... could they have done all this to the city? But the city rubble certainly wasn't _Odaiba's_... that Davis knew for sure. He didn't recognize any of the rubble.

The blood-red dusk filtering the sky had also clued him in as to why this world could never be Earth or the Digital World. The sky had never cried blood before.

"It's da Digital World, alrigh'," Beelzemon replied, carelessly tossing his leg over the side of his beastly bike and impatiently drumming his fingers along the steering wheel. "Been a shithole fa' centuries now."

"Centuries...?" Cody gave Chizuru a puzzled look.

Davis felt sick. He had the sinking feeling that the blackness he fell into had not led him to the Digital World... or at least the Digital World he knew. And then he felt sicker at the possibility that maybe they'd fallen into a time leap. Maybe this world was the world he knew, but centuries ahead of time. He didn't know, but either way— it didn't sound good.

At Cody's question, Beelzemon decided to elaborate. "Yeah, kid. _ Centuries._ Multiple. A world da Sovereign abandoned, where da last real Tamer died hundreds o' years ago... a world I don' care fo' no more. You new or sometin'?"

"The Sovereign abandoned this world...? But...?" Davis glanced in Cody and Chizuru's direction. It was becoming increasingly evident that this world was nothing like the worlds they had known, and known for years...

(-'10201020101'-)

"Ohhhh! Look, Sakuyamon! They're humans, they're humans, they're humans! Humans are here, look look! They're HUMANS! Haha!"

TK groaned as he clamped a hand to his forehead. Stirring, he opened his eyes to see the white, blurred face of a tiny digimon. White-furred with flapping ears, the digimon's large eyes widened as he giggled.

"Patamon...?" No, the digimon wasn't his partner. Glancing over, he saw Patamon sleeping soundly beside him, his eyes squeezed shut as he quietly mumbled. TK reached over to hold him.

"Good mornin'!" the new digimon squeaked. "Well... or whatever time of day it is." The digimon gave a blink up at the red sky. "Never really know what time it is anymore! Ohhh... it's so saaad." His ears clung to his head as his bottom lip puckered.

"Calumon, move," said a firm, feminine voice. Instantly, the digimon pulled back just in time for a staff to replace him. It pointed directly at TK's throat, stopping him from moving. When he looked up at his oppressor, he realized it was a tall digimon, plated in gold armor that led to a helmet that shrouded half her face. Her white hair was pulled back into two ponytails that fluttered behind her, swaying in the wind.

"Are you a part of Beelzemon's faction? You must be. I certainly did not summon you. Dukemon would tell me if he did. Perhaps Justimon... but no. Not since Ryo..." Sakuyamon's cold voice trailed off. "Recruiting humans... I didn't think Beelzemon could sink so low, to use this against me."

"Beelzemon?" TK's brow furrowed. "Look, I don't have time for this. Do you know where my friends are? We just got out of a battle. Our entire world's in danger if we don't get back there!"

"Battle? With the Nightmare Soldiers?" Sakuyamon gave a grave look.

"Yes! Nightmare Soldiers!" TK said with a grin. "Now we're getting somewhere! My friends and I were just fighting the leaders when we got sucked into this darkness and transported... transported..." TK looked around him. The sky rumbled above their heads, black clouds filtering over a sallow orange Sun. The sky permeated with a garnet red light, pulsating, data squirming like worms in the atmosphere as the Sun beat down upon them. TK had never seen anything like it. Nearby, rubble tumbled from a half-collapsed, half-dilapidated building and crashed against the ground. An entire mowed-down city surrounded them. "Just where is here?"

Sakuyamon hesitated. Briefly glancing around, she hoisted her staff to the sky and clipped it to a sheath at her back, then offered her hand to help him to his feet. "You better come with me. It's not safe in these parts."

Just then, they heard a low moan from the rubble. In the distance, a whirring growl hitched the air, then grew further and further away. The moan, however, remained, and when Sakuyamon instantaneously unsheathed her staff again to attack the sound, TK recognized the voice.

"Jun!" he called. "Wait, don't hurt her! She's my friend!"

_Friend..._

It hit TK out of nowhere. He didn't quite know why the memory struck him at such a crucial moment, or why it made him feel cold inside. All he knew was that, as he tried to stop Sakuyamon, all he could think about was that he'd called her his friend.

"_Are these _friends_ of yours?" Devimon had asked with a curled lip, just earlier that day... Mere hours had passed since then, or had it been a day? Two days?_

_He'd been referring to Momoe and Jun. Jun snarked, "Friends? Naaaah."_

"_You don't know me—"_ he'd snapped at her later that day.

"She's a friend of yours?" Sakuyamon sifted through the rubble looking for the source of the voice.

"TK...?" the voice murmured, hardly conscious. Then, slightly more awake, the muffled voice continued, "TK! Help, I can't get outta here, I'm in this box thing! I can't see anything! My hair's stuck and I can't move and _oooucchhhh_. Coronamon is here too... I think he's sick. Please hurry!"

"I'm coming, Jun!" TK rushed into the fray, pulling up debris and wreckage. Though he was hardly conscious himself – the scalding burns and cuts he'd gotten from the battle still blistered his skin – he wasn't about to let someone else die because he didn't do anything to save them. He watched Devimon die before his eyes, just as they had become friends... he couldn't let the same thing happen to Jun.

"Jun!" TK finally saw a tuft of mahogany-colored hair poking out of a knocked-over fridge. "You're in a fridge!"

"I'm in a _what?!_"

"A... oh, never mind. Almost there!"

"I will not be put in a fridge, Goddammit!"

TK gripped along the edge of the fridge. His arms trembled as he attempted to lift it off of Jun and Coronamon. It was no use... it was as if all his previous power had been zapped out of him. No, maybe it wasn't that— maybe he had just simply used up all the energy he had to give.

Sakuyamon stepped behind him, her brow furrowed. "You have partners?"

"We're DigiDestined!" TK grumbled, still trying to lift the fridge. "Will you help me out here?"

Sakuyamon didn't motion toward the fridge. Instead she looked confused. "DigiDestined?"

Just then, a loud crash interrupted them both. Sakuyamon went dead silent as she peered to a digimon beside TK. TK nearly leaped ten feet high as the stranger came out of left field and grabbed the fridge rim with his bare paw. Grinning, TK said, "Leomon!"

Leomon nodded at TK. "Let us get this device off the child."

His arms straining, Leomon managed to lift the metal apparatus and toss it off Jun and Coronamon. Jun popped up and felt along her head where her hair had gotten caught between the ground and the door, tears filling her eyes. "Ohhhh, I thought I'd never be able to move my head again..."

She then looked down at Coronamon, who was still speechless. He continued to mutter the same word over and over again. "Dianamon... Dianamon... Dianamon... Dianamon..."

Jun whispered his name, then looked up at the sky. Solemnly, she watched the black clouds drift across the red sky, a darkness stirring in her usually bright eyes. TK watched her for a couple of seconds. He had nearly forgotten... while TK had lost Devimon – some odd "frienemy" figure in his life, a teacher and tormentor – Jun had watched Shuu die before her eyes. They had both lost someone special to them, and now they were separated from their brothers as well... stuck in this apocalyptic plain.

Momoe's final words to him still resonated inside his head. _"For the Devil King."_

And now Gennai as well... The people lost, victim to a war they didn't ask for, whirled in TK's mind. Chikara, Cody's grandfather. Devimon. Shin's Coredramon. Shuu. Tentomon. And now Gennai...

If all this was gone in just a single battle, what did the future hold in store for them?

No, TK couldn't allow himself to think like that. He could only forge on, unrelenting, promising to shoulder Devimon's wrath. That was his promise, that was his mantra. That was his memento mori.

"Where's Mantarou?" TK asked Leomon.

"I'm here!" Mantarou said from behind another building. "_Duuude_, there's like a Nintendo 64 in this s-crap metal! Did we go back in time or something?"

"Mantarou, now's not the time to be an idiot!" Jun hurled at him.

"_Chiiiiiill_," Mantarou called out from the wreckage, poking his head out from around the corner and grinning at her. "Make love, not war, baby!"

"I'd rather not be making _either_ right now, and don't call me baby!"

"What are you doing here?" Sakuyamon's low voice cut through the argument. Jun and Mantarou fell silent as they looked at Sakuyamon, who had directed her attention toward Leomon.

Leomon hesitated. "I am not certain. I simply awoke here."

"You're dead," Sakuyamon replied, stepping closer to him. "You were permanently deleted and absorbed by Beelzemon. You can't be here, it's impossible."

"I _am_ certain that you have mistaken me with someone else," Leomon replied, taking a step back.

"No! Well... perhaps," Sakuyamon replied. Wearily, she loosened her shoulders and turned her back to them. "I apologize. You just... you reminded me of a very dear friend I lost long ago."

"I am sorry for your loss," Leomon replied.

"No matter." Sakuyamon motioned for them to follow. "We have a bit of a journey ahead of us back to headquarters, and Dukemon won't lend me Grani. I'm sure Justimon will be glad to see you, however. He's glad to see everyone."

"Like me!" Calumon chirped, landing on Mantarou's shoulder. "I like this one! He smiles a lot!"

Mantarou grinned.

Sakuyamon craned her neck to peer at them from the corner of her eye. She had forgotten what it was like to be around humans... It made her long for a time that faded long ago, when she was still young. But times had changed. People and digimon had changed.

TK wondered who this mysterious Beelzemon was. Whoever he was, Sakuyamon had seemed frightened beyond belief over his whereabouts; odd, she seemed quite a strong digimon herself, so what was there to be afraid of? As for Dukemon and Justimon, TK had also never heard of such a digimon, but he was interested in meeting these new figures. Hopefully they would aid him in finding his friends.

He glanced at his D3. Besides three dots indicating himself, Jun, and Mantarou, there was nothing else to find the location of his friends. Maybe they were simply too far away— or maybe something was blocking their D3's transmission. Either way, he was determined to find them, no matter how long it took.

Suddenly, Sakuyamon's head popped up. She looked off in the distance. "He's near it. No..."

"What?" TK's brow furrowed.

"Come," Sakuyamon grunted, rushing off. "I don't have time to explain. But we have to stop Beelzemon at any cost, or he will unleash a demon upon this land... and we will never be able to restore peace again."

(-'10201020101'-)

Davis wasn't sure how long they traveled across the barren, bloody landscape. They passed through various dead cities, entire buildings crippled by neglect and waste. He saw cracked roads that were covered with overgrown flora and even, in the near distance, spheres of red light that fluttered skyward.

The entire time, Davis had not seen a single digimon beyond Beelzemon and the partner digimon.

"How close are we?" he shouted above the whir of the motorcycle.

Beelzemon grunted. "Close."

The closer they got to their unknown destination, the more of those floating red spheres entered Davis's vision. They hovered in the air, spiraling, then disappeared into the clouds. Sometimes a few would latch onto the dead cities, devouring entire structures in a blob of red crumpling matter.

Davis had no clue what the red matter was, but whatever it was, it gave him the chills.

Soon they came to a stop before a rusty, dilapidated gate. They were mammoth, at least three stories tall, and were carved into the jaws of a massive cave. The roof of it arched forward just barely enough to shroud the cave's innards in a thick darkness. Bronze-colored metal poles outlined the thick awnings of the entrance, marked by some unknown digital language Davis couldn't understand.

"What's it say?" Chizuru asked, nodding to the words inscribed on the gates.

Beelzemon smirked. " 'Prepare ta die'. "

Chizuru shivered and hugged Snatchmon closer to her chest. "And its name is Inigo Montoya and you killed its father...?"

Davis's stiffness loosened up as he almost giggled. Cody, who hadn't understood the reference, looked at Armadillomon who shrugged. Beelzemon frowned.

"Whacha blatherin' on 'bout, pipsqueak?"

"Never mind..." Chizuru sighed.

Beelzemon swung his leg over the side of the motorcycle and hopped off. "Whateva. Hurry up."

Tail swinging lazily, the odd digimon strode to the metal gates and swung them open with a single hand. The hinges gave a high-pitched squeal. When the humans hadn't followed him, he turned back to them expectantly and motioned for them to follow.

Chizuru shook her head. "If you think I'm going anywhere that tells me to prepare to die, you need medication."

Snatchmon nodded in agreement.

Cody weighed his options. On one side, he had no clue where he was or why he was there and Beelzemon was the only living creature they had come across their entire time here, therefore the only one who could give them any sort of answers. On the other hand, he didn't trust Beelzemon. The digimon was blunt and rude and unkind, and had a penchant for eating and absorbing other digimon. And venturing inside a dark cave alone with this digimon did not seem a wise thing to do, especially when he and Armadillomon – and even Davis and Veemon – were in such a weakened state. They still needed to recuperate.

"What's in there?" Cody asked. He looked to Davis for support.

Davis was unsure himself. He was used to just plunging into danger, regardless of circumstance or consequence. But even he was wary to journey inside a dark cave, with an injured partner, and injured friends, with a complete stranger digimon who had shown himself to be quite capable of killing them. Then again, if he was going to kill them, why hadn't he already? It wasn't like anyone was around to stop him.

Beelzemon hesitated. He didn't seem the type to enjoy explaining himself. In fact, he seemed the type to hate it with a passion and to think it beneath him. Davis could empathize with that. However, Beelzemon decided against denying Cody's request for information and replied.

"I said I'd spare ya unda only one condition— that ya'd help me wit' sometin'," he said. "So in there is ya salvation, and the salvation of ya partna. From me."

That was enough for Cody. Still unsure, and wondering if there was something else in there that would threaten his and Armadillomon's lives, he sighed and relented to the digimon's will. Chizuru stepped forward and grabbed his hand in hers. He looked up to see her giving him a half-smile.

Somewhat bitterly, she said, "Let's get this over with... I'm tired."

"You better make due on your promise!" Davis snapped at Beelzemon, pointing his forefinger at the digimon. "Dude, you hurt my friends and I'll... I'll... okay, I can't do much of anything right now, but I WILL get back at you! I'll like... claw your eyes out or... something..."

Beelzemon raised an eyebrow before he chuckled. "Sure ya will. Come along den, all ya... _Destined_."

Hesitantly, the six stepped up to the mouth of the massive cave. Davis took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut.

As soon as his toes touched the darkness within the cave, he felt a chill enter through his pores. It sank into his blood. Then filtered through his veins until it reached his heart. Whatever was inside this cave... it wasn't good. In fact, without even meeting it, without seeing it, Davis could feel its hatred for him radiating off the walls, clinging to his skin.

There was a half-dead digimon god entrapped by these walls. And it wanted Davis to release it.

(-'1020102010'-)

"Beelzemon is awakening..." Mara whispered, suddenly looking up.

She grinned. "But he won't be ripe for a long, long time... and then we will snatch him up too. Line 'em all up..." She took aim at the Statue of Liberty, "...and knock 'em all down!" and with a thundering _**CRRRRASH**_, the entire structure collapsed on its foundation, blown back by the force of a single arrow.

"Let the real fun begin."

(-'102201020010'-)

Human children... they were in her world now. She could feel them. How could they return here? They had sacrificed everything, even their ability to travel to this world, in order to entrap her. She had made sure their sacrifice would provide no wiggle room; so what were they doing back in this realm?

All these years, she had waited. And watched. And tasted all the fine fruits of their destruction.

It took decades – _centuries_ – to return to prime form, she would not let it be for naught. This time, she wouldn't underestimate the humans. This time, she would delete them all. They had all grown far out of control, and it was her design – her raison d'etre – to extinguish them all.

She would be eternally pleased.


	36. I&XXXVI FINAL: The Mirror of Souls

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ Thank you.

**Story Themes:** "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele, "Schism" by Tool

**Author's Note: **And here is the final chapter of the original Saga I. Stayed tuned for a preview of Saga II!

(-'20320202030'-)

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga I Session XXXVI**

... The Mirror of Souls ...

Ken was in a dream of his own.

Walking through the empty rooms of his apartment, he hummed a near-silent lullaby, trying to calm his nerves. There was a huge test the next day that would determine which elementary school he would be accepted into. If he did exceptionally well, he could get into a school specifically designed for gifted children. His parents wanted more than anything for him to enter that program, though he couldn't say for himself whether or not he truly wanted it.

He passed by their father's office. The door was open only an inch, but he could still see the stacks of paper, some scattered across the mahogany desk, the room barely lit by a lamp. His father's computer sat toward the right corner of the desk, its black screen reflecting the orange orb of the light and a small figure sprawled out over the ground. Ken was mid-step when he heard a voice inside the room.

_Bro...?_ he thought, pausing. Stepping back, he peered through the crack to the room beyond.

"_And den... den you give 'im a friend!"_ the voice was saying.

The door creaked on its hinges as Ken popped his head in, but the boy he saw sitting on the hard-wood floors was not Sam. Instead, the boy was much tinier; Ken couldn't think of any time his brother was that small... or if he had been, Ken was too young to remember it. His hair was also a tint too dark, and too flat.

Hearing the squeal, the boy spun around and stared up at Ken.

"_Sam...?"_ said the little boy.

Ken's eyes widened.

The little boy was identical to Ken. The little boy _was_ Ken, and Ken... Ken was Sam.

"_What are you drawing, Ken?"_ Sam asked, walking into the heart of the room and crouching.

"_Me!"_ Ken replied, his fingertip crumpling the paper as he pointed.

Sam squinted. Ken gestured to a tall man with white, wiry hair, and a long crooked nose – or at least what Sam assumed to be a nose, no one could really be sure with little kid pictures. The man wore a black poncho and green parachute pants, his chicken scratch fingers outstretched. He was in-between a tiny wormlike, centipede-like creature and a six-legged... horse? At least those looked like hooves, and it had a snout with spaghetti hair. Behind him was a monkey with sunglasses and a little stick-figure girl with freckles.

"_Are you sure you're not this one?"_ Sam asked, pointing at the stick-figure girl. Ken did have sort of longer hair than most of his male peers anyway.

"_That's a girl, Sam!"_ Ken replied defensively, half-heartedly glaring. _"This is me when I'm all growed-up!"_

"_It's 'grown', Poindexter,"_ Sam said, though his expression softened. _"And who are all these monsters?"_

Ken always had a penchant for drawing monsters ever since he learned what crayons could do. Then again, most kids Ken's age liked to draw little monsters, at least from what Sam gathered. He himself had never been into such a fad, however; he'd taken mostly to books and plays even from a young age.

Ken blinked down at the page. _"They're..._" He hesitated. _"They're my friends. We're going to play a game. It's all a game really, all of this..."_ Ken's eyes narrowed into slits. _"All I want to do is play."_

Goosebumps formed on Sam's arms. _"I think you've had enough of this, Ken,"_ Sam interrupted, abruptly standing and snatching the paper out of Ken's grasp. Ken gasped and opened his mouth to argue, but Sam held up his forefinger and said, _"It's past your bedtime. If Mom or Dad found you in here, they'd be furious. Get going, little brother."_

Ken clamped his mouth shut in a pout and spun around. With a stomp, he exited the room and slammed the door shut. Sam gave an irritated sigh. And now their parents were probably awake, and would be wondering what _he_ was doing awake, and he would have to explain all about his stress and inability to rest and how he just couldn't _sleep_ and... They would be so disappointed in him. They expected more from him. He had to make a good example of himself for his brother, he couldn't afford to slack off or become an irresponsible low-life.

At least that was what they told him.

And they were correct. Ken looked up to Sam. He would always follow down Sam's path, no matter what path Sam took. His little brother would emulate him for years to come. Sure, he may eventually develop a sense of individuality and independence, but what if that common logic developed too late? What if he'd already developed a lowly reputation, an incompetence or ill-will toward rigid discipline? What if he grew into the habit of procrastination?

Sam couldn't allow that.

"_Always so focused on what is best for your brother... but never focused on what is best for you,"_ said a voice behind him. Sam's heart nearly leaped to his throat as he twisted on his heel and peered in the voice's direction.

There was no one there. Just his father's work desk, the pile of papers, the dim lamp and the soft whirring of his father's computer.

"_That's funny,"_ Sam mumbled with a frown. He reached over to grip the mouse in his hand. _I thought this was off when I came in here. Maybe it was only asleep._

He quickly exited the chat window that had popped up and clicked the Shut Down option on the desktop. Watching the monitor glow die, he turned back to the hallway.

"_Don't walk away from me."_

_**Thump-thump**_. He whirled around. The computer was back on.

"_What in the world...?"_

A voice whirred from the speakers, filling the room. _"I'm talking to you. It's rude to walk away."_

"_Who are you?"_

"_Doesn't matter... yet."_ The voice went on, _"Let's play a little game, Sam. Let's think about things logically! Oh yes, you love logic, don't you?"_ Sam bleakly nodded. _"I don't think your brother needs you as much as you think he does, bud. I think you should be more focused on your future than his. After all, you may have all the brains in the family but you don't have the brawn... you won't have the glory."_

"_I don't do this for glory,"_ Sam replied, looking down at his feet.

"_Okay. Maybe you don't."_ The deep, rolling voice chuckled. _"But you are the one working to achieve it. To gain honor. While your brother sits in here _coloring_, you are studying your entire youth away... He's destined, you know."_

"_Destined?"_

"**Destined**_."_

"_Destined for what?"_

"_Destined to do things you could never even dream about," _the voice replied_. "He will see things no human has ever seen before, discover entire worlds untouched by human hands. He will earn honor and recognition no Ichijouji has ever tasted. His entire life – even before his birth! – he has been marked down for greatness... without even lifting a finger. Without even wanting it!"_

"_How do you know all this?"_

"_I have... heh. A _**friend**_, let's put it that way... who just knows."_

"_Well... that's good for Ken,"_ Sam replied, looking down at the wrinkles in his palms. So he had nothing to worry about then. He could simply allow his brother peace; he didn't have to stress out over Ken taking a bad path down life.

"_He will have everything,"_ the voice went on. Sam looked up. _"Money. Fame. The world. Love. Your parents' _unconditional _love, without striving to attain it like you have to. You will be left in the dust. His shadow. He will take everything you want, effortlessly. But also at a great cost."_

"_Cost...?"_

"_He will lose himself, you know,"_ the voice growled. _"It'll be too much for him. He'll get caught up in that web of treasure and turn to cruelty. A bit like you could. That's one thing you two brothers have in common. Your cruelty. It's the DigiVice that starts it... it's the DigiVice that shows him this new world. These digimon. This jumpstart that unlocks the sin inside him, the sin you've already instilled. He wants what you do, Sam Ichijouji... He wants what everyone has. He craves it, just as you do."_

Everything. Riches. Affection. Recognition. Attention. Even maybe the littlest bit of freedom... _Control_. Sam hesitated.

"_You can't protect him from himself as you are now,"_ the voice continued, _"But... I can help you, Sam Ichijouji. Can give you anything you seek._

"_I only ask for one thing in return."_

(-'10201020102001'-)

"GET OFF HIM."

Ken woke up to a flash of red and green light. Eyes snapping open, he bolted to his feet and threw a half-scalded Hangyomon off his chest. The blistered, rubbery creature – already pelted by Yolei's attack – rolled across the ground until his back thunked against a nearby tree.

As Ken looked away from the Hangyomon, he felt Yolei wrap her arms around him in a tight embrace. "You're okay... You're okay... I was so worried, Ken!"

But he said nothing in response. He merely looked down at her, his expression wiped from his face, and lightly hugged her back. "Ken..." she whispered, her eyes a tear-soaked sheen. "I'm sorry."

Oh, _Sam._

"I think..." Yolei pulled away and peered to the gray-tinted canopy above them. Silver light splayed in-between the crinkling tree leaves, glinting diamonds on her face. With a frown, she went on, "I think we're at the Dark Ocean, but without the Ocean... maybe this is..." Her frown was replaced by a glare. "Ken, if there's a Dream World... do you think the World of Darkness – and maybe even the Dark Ocean – are the opposite of that? That the Dream World is also a realm of light, with the Light Beings, and that the Dark Area is a Nightmare World...?

"I think... that's where we are... the Digital World's Hell... the Dark Area, the World of Darkness... the Nightmare Realm."

(-'1022010200'-)

_Gatomon... Tai... TK... Davis._

Kari dreamed of the flower field again. Nightmares of attacking Tai, of telling TK he would never be strong enough, of accusing Davis he would never make it in time ran awash in her head, while that blond, dark-skinned, freckled girl smiled – sweetly, and sadly – in the center of the field. That girl was always so sad, but why? Every time Kari saw her, there was an instinctive need to protect her from some dark, malevolent force not even Kari was fully aware of. But that had always been Kari's instinct— to protect those who could not protect themselves, because she had always been fully aware how comforting it was to know someone would always save _her_ when she needed them to.

As the ocean waves shaved away at another layer of sand, as the lighthouse's blinding reflection gleamed against the freckled girl's face, as the waves splashed against the shore and spiraled over the meadow, as the girl murmured, _"I'm sorry,"_ and as the torrent smashed into the girl's frail body, Kari opened her eyes. The dreams and the nightmares were over. In their place, she found herself lying in a gritty, sticky substance, with nothing but darkness obscuring her sight.

She could hear the water clashing against the beach.

"Don't move," someone whispered beside her. She didn't recognize the voice. "If they realize you're awake, they'll separate us before I can deliver a message."

She opened her mouth to speak, but a finger stopped her. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Years," the voice said. Kari lied silently in the sand, wishing she knew who was speaking. It was definitely male, maybe a digimon? Her mind was too foggy. What happened? Why was this man talking about years and messages and pretending to be asleep? "It will take years to fully develop your Enigma Evolution." Kari stiffened. "If you are this powerful now, imagine what you can do a year... two years... five years from now. Have patience."

Kari's heart sunk. She was hoping to end any need of using the Enigma Evolution that night.

_Who was I kidding?_ she thought. _None of us have luck that good._

"Leviamon won't hurt you," the figure continued in an even quieter voice. His words were almost lost against the chime of the ocean, the wind between the nearby leaves.

Goosebumps. The cold crawled through her chest.

She felt a hand rest on her forehead. The skin was warm, soft— and so incredibly gentle as it moved a couple of soggy hair strands out of her eyes. It was such a familiar touch that Kari had troubles stopping herself from leaning into it, from letting the fears to flood from her and be washed away by the ocean tides.

"It'll be horrifying at first, but I'll always watch over you," the voice continued, grip pausing on her cheek. "Leviamon and his henchmen won't lay a claw on you."

_What will be horrifying?_ Kari's eyelashes flickered as she tried to open her eyes. Only more darkness entered her vision. The figure leaned forward and released a sweet kiss on her brow, obscuring his face from her vision.

His hand went from her cheek to one of her hands, their fingers linked together. "Oh ENIAC, I've missed you... I'll never hurt you again... I'll never lay a finger on you... Never again..."

Kari's eyes snapped open.

Her voice breaking, a realization on her lips, Davis's face flashing across her mind, Kari asked in a trembling voice, "...Lucesco?"

In the dark, she could see his broad silhouette. His blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail. His eyes – a blue glinting bright enough to shine even in the night – lain with a sad, gentle sheen on hers.

Rather than answer, Lucesco replied, "I want to be your friend, too, Kari."

"_I thought... I could kill you..."_ A scorched, bleeding, damaged-beyond-repair Kari had whispered to Lucesco, dying on that ground, staring up at him through a blackening vision. _"But I can't do that to someone who could be my friend."_

She paused, then said, "Close your eyes, Lucesco."

Lucesco did as she asked.

She watched him silently for a couple of seconds. Then, with a roar, Kari Kamiya darted in the one foot of space behind them and curled her fingers around his throat. Lucesco's eyes snapped opened, just as hers had, and smashed his head into the sandy ground. Kari's eyes had been open for less than a couple seconds and she knew where she was— the dark sand, the silver-hued ocean, the lighthouse which splayed black light and what was layers of bloodstained, upturned sand still present from her fight with the Soul Sucker six months ago— this place, this world, this area had been burned, embedded, born and dead into her memory.

"K—K—"

Kari had the distinct feeling Lucesco was trying and failing to say her name as she strangled him. "No, you shut-up! SHUT YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH," she hurled, wrenching his neck upward and pelting it back into the sand with enough force for it feel like a board instead of grain. "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME FOR DEAD?!" _**WHACK WHACK**_ Over and over again she slammed his head into the sand. Blue and pinkish-hued lightning crackled along her fingers. "YOU INFECTED ME. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I'VE DONE? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT _**YOU'VE**_DONE?

"My brother's half-blind," she choked. _**WHACK**_. "I threatened and nearly killed my best friend." _**WHACK**_. "I abused my boyfriend!" _**WHACK**_. "And Gatomon... _Gatomon..._

"Everyone I hurt... everyone I _killed_...

"Yolei and Halsemon almost added to that list... _myself_... watching, with a smile, as your partner-in-crime murders one of my dearest, oldest friends! Gennai!

"You should have let me die. Now I can never forgive you. Now I can never forgive... forgive _myself_...

"And now you treat me nicely... promise to make sure nothing bad happens to me... touch my face and reassure me... tell me I'll one day be strong enough to escape this hell... BUT IT'S YOU. WHAT IS THIS, A GAME TO YOU? Are you trying to make me trust you, is this some _other_ form of torment?! Haven't you done enough to me and all the ones I love, and even the ones I don't? FUCK YOU. FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU.

"WHAT THE FUCK MADE YOU THINK I WOULD BE YOUR FRIEND?"

_**WHACK!**_

"I HATE YOU."

Lucesco fell limp. Blood coated his hair and dribbled to the sand beneath.

"I HATE YOU." _**WHACK**_. "I HATE YOU." **WHACK**. "I _**HATE**_ YOU..." **_WHACK_**. "I _**hate**_... hate..."

Her grip went numb. Trembling, Kari didn't fully realize the warm sting in her eyes until the warm fluid touched her cheeks. She saw her claws gliding through Gatomon, she saw Dagomon digivolve into Leviamon, she saw Davis fall apart in his attempt to stop the Soul Sucker from completely destroying the woman he loved. She saw the warmth and love fade from Gatomon's expression, then the earth as it opened its jaws and swallowed her and her beloved friends whole.

They didn't stop the Endless Ones.

They could not stop the Endless Ones.

It was pointless. Just as Gennai had predicted, they were still too weak.

By the time they were strong enough, the Endless Ones would take over realm after realm, eventually seizing control over the entire multi-verse. And with that much power, even with the Enigma Evolution, how could the Destined stand a chance?

People were dead. No one she knew were nearby. She was stuck here again, in this cold, dark place, in a world opposite to her own. Stuck here, strangling and straddling the man who helped put her here...

but even through all this, and everything he had done, could she truly hate a person?

She hadn't hated the Dark Masters. Disagreed with them, sure, and she did what she had to do to stop them from harming the Digital World. But she never hated them.

She pitied Apocalymon.

The Emperor scared her at first – shown her irrefutable proof that humans could use the Digital World for far more destructive purposes than she hoped them capable; though she had always known that in her heart, she had tried to deny it time and time again, believing deep down that humans and digimon could live peacefully if only they looked past their differences – but she had _feared_ the Emperor – _Ken_ – not hated him. And later on, she had grown to even understand him, to empathize, even if she would never follow his path of havoc.

Mummymon and Arukenimon had never done anything to warrant her hate. BlackWarGreymon was a confused, unsure digimon who reminded her too much of her brother's partner for her to hate him, even without his puzzling character.

The closest digimon – or _anyone_, really, human or digimon – who she had come to hate was Myotismon. Myotismon, who had enslaved and abused Gatomon. Myotismon, who took Wizardmon away from them. Myotismon, who manipulated and killed Oikawa, Mummymon, and Arukenimon just as Kari had grown to understand them. Yet, while he was the closest fiend to ever reach her hate, she had never snapped out at him. She had never tried to personally kill him because of her _own_ anger— a blood-lust that had nothing to do with what Myotismon would achieve if allowed to his own devices, a blood-lust that wasn't conjured to stop him from doing unspeakable things, but a blood-lust that was _personal_, a blood-lust which boiled in her veins and poisoned her heart.

But Myotismon had never infected Kari. Even when he forced Gatomon to choose between him and Kari, his influence over her was not enough to take her from Kari's side. Myotismon had never killed a close, personal friend, or was responsible for overthrowing both Earth and the Digital World. They had always, _always_, stopped him before he could get to that point.

These last six months... she had been training with Gennai almost every day, trying to hone her abilities, to contact the World of Light specifically to avoid this fate. Yet here she was, all for nothing! And Gennai was dead. Gatomon was gone. And the darkness inside Kari's heart that took Gatomon away still remained, festering, waiting at any moment for her to lose control.

Kari buried her face in her hands. She couldn't hate him. She couldn't hate anyone, no matter how angry or hurt or embarrassed or disappointed she was. Hate would do her no good. It never did anyone any good. How did things come to this?

Was it really just hours ago that she and Gatomon were helping Tai look for apartments, all while picking up the smorgasbord-mess from his welcome back party? Had Sora and Mimi really just drunken so much spiked punch that they revealed some of their most surprising secrets to everyone, like Mimi's attraction to Yolei and Sora's dream of being a fashion designer?

Hours ago, Davis held her in his arms as they stared up at the starry sky. Gatomon was at her side.

And then they were holding hands, their final union before destiny once again split them apart.

"_**IT'S NOT FAIR**_," Kari roared, smashing her fist into the ground beside Lucesco. "_Every time... every time..._" Every time, something seized the Destined in all different directions, never allowing them to face their foes as a single unified force.

Lucesco's fingers lightly grazed her shoulder. She briefly glanced at the dark purple hues bruising his throat. She thought that he was trying to comfort her before another, more harsh grip grabbed her other hand and jerked her off of him.

Her eyes flickered to Lucesco's fading expression. "I told you not to move..." he whispered.

"W...wait!" she murmured. Spinning around, she realized the person who had grabbed her was a Hangyomon. She chucked her foot into the sand, spraying it upward in a blinding cloud, and smashed the bottom of her palm into the Hangyomon's nose. Twisting on her heel, her opposite foot snapped another Hangyomon in the ribs and sent him spiraling back into a crowd of other blinded Hangyomon, who scattered. Electricity crackling on the tips of her fingers, she flung her arm in the direction of the ocean and sent hundreds of electrical currents through the waves, essentially electrocuting several emerging Hangyomon.

One of the Hangyomon cackled. "_Queen Kari..."_ he muttered, reaching for her face. "_At last..."_

As soon as his slimy, webbed fingers came within ten feet of her, Kari jettisoned a bolt of blue lightning in his face, straight through his mouth.

"You want to mate with me?" Kari growled, her tears flowing, gleaming in the gray moonlight. _"MATE WITH THIS."_

Hundreds of more electrical currents jutted from beneath the sand and entered through the Hangyomon's genitals. They shrilly screamed before their voices died, bodies dissolving into dark, withering data that, rather than floating to the sky, soaked into the sand like black blood.

As the elusive blue light illuminated her face, something cold coiled around her ankle and threw her off her feet, then just as swiftly wrapped around her entire body, instantaneously dismantling her lightning. Kari bit back a hiss and, wincing, looked up at her latest attacker, whose tails had enveloped all but her head and her feet.

Through clenched teeth, Kari said, "Good morning, Leviamon. Hope I didn't wake you."

"You woke me the moment you were born," Leviamon replied, tails tightening. She threw her head back in a silent scream. His voice rumbled, shaking the ground, throwing the Hangyomon off their feet as they scrambled to find their balance. "I have been waiting a very long time for you..."

"Just hurry up and get it over with," she snapped. "I've had a very long, very hard, very bad day, and your foreplay is almost worse than the act itself. Just know that you can take my body, but I will never be yours. I will never willingly bow to you."

"Foreplay...?" Leviamon raised a brow. Then, after a moment's pause, he cracked a wide, toothy grin that stretched across the entirety of his face. Throwing his head back in a roar of laughter that forced the Dark Ocean itself to ripple, he craned his neck in the direction of his minions and said, "What have you been doing in my absence, hmmm...? Such adorable little minions."

"'Adorable' isn't the word I would use," Kari muttered with a penetrating glare.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, then turned back to the Hangyomon, who kneeled before him.

"Lord Leviamon has returned!" one of the Hangyomon chanted. "All hail Lord Leviamon! He has awakened and risen from his prison!"

Leviamon continued to grin. "My family... do you wish to use this human to enlarge our family? Did you invite her here, or did you merely lure her?"

"We have chosen the Child of Light, Lord Leviamon! We could taste her power, even from the human world... it called to us..." the same Hangyomon replied. "Your family will return to you! We will see to it, that this woman become our faithful queen!"

All at once, the Hangyomon lifted their spears to the sky and chanted, "ALL HAIL LORD LEVIA—"

_**SPLSH**_

One smooth swipe of Leviamon's massive tail left every single one of the chanting Hangyomon several dozen splatters of black blood on the sand.

Kari gaped.

Leviamon's eyes dulled. "What a bunch of assholes. That's not how you make a family. I must start from scratch all over again. This batch is just as flawed as the rest." He then looked back in Kari's direction. "You haven't eaten for a day. Come, I'll have Wisemon prepare a human supper for you."

"No..." Kari whispered, still sheet-white, staring at the smears in the sand. Leviamon had killed all of her attackers, the ones who assaulted her and tried to rape her. But hadn't he ordered them to? Weren't they doing that because he wanted the ultimate race of beings? And why kill them, when he called them his family? _Don't rationalize,_ Kari thought to herself, glancing at the ocean. "I don't want to. I want to go home."

"No." Leviamon grunted. "You will stay with me. I will make you hate me for a while yet, before the hate fades to pity..."

Her eyes fluttered around for Lucesco. She didn't want to be here, not with this Endless One... away from her friends... he wouldn't kill her. That much she knew. But what else was he planning? Did he personally want to deliver his minions' original scheme? No. She wouldn't allow that. She couldn't.

Kari struggled. "Bring me home! Tai! Gatomon! TK! Davis! _**DAVIS**_!"

"It must be nice," Leviamon commented, taking a step into the Ocean. When Kari glared in his direction, he elaborated. "...to have names to call out for."

"Let. Me. Out!"

"Yes, yes, screaming will certainly make me release you," Leviamon yawned. "I'm not planning on doing anything to you. Human isn't really my type. And Demon wouldn't let me bring you back to Earth anyway, so you're going to eat a good meal, get a long rest, and recuperate. You've lost a lot of energy, human."

Then, as two of his paws were submerged, Leviamon's tail shuddered in the air

and tossed Kari into Leviamon's mouth.

(-'1020102011022'-)

Wisemon's head snapped up. "She's coming," he said, luring the attention of Myotismon and the char-black Deathmon. "She'll find us."

A yellow grin accompanied his yellow eyes.

"The Dreamless Dreamer makes me dream... but she will wake me up.

"She'll wake us all up."

(-30200302-)

It was dim.

Joe could feel his heart racing in his chest. Every rattling thump grew hotter than the last, ricocheting in his chest.

At first, he wasn't sure what to do or what to say. He lied there, unmoving, letting the silence surround him. He tried to think why he wasn't moving. It wasn't as though he was paralyzed. He hadn't been wounded in his legs, and even if he was, he could try to boost himself up into a sitting position. So why wasn't he moving?

_Shuu's dead._

His eyes felt as damp and hot as his chest.

Joe was a doctor. He had seen death more than a few times by now – of both digimon and humans alike – to deny it, to let his innocence and naivete to flood his logic and common sense. He could not deny reality; he was not like Gomamon, he was not like any digimon really. And neither was Shuu. They didn't just turn into digieggs when they died, they faded out of existence, leaving an emptiness they once filled.

Gennai... Tentomon... they had all perished.

The rage, the incredulity which had fueled Joe withered and crumbled like ancient stones chipped away by a river. Every scalding lash of anger that struck his chest, every pounding beat of his heart and his pumping adrenaline, ran cold through him.

Rage had been replaced.

"Joe...?" said a soft voice behind him. Somehow, someway, Joe found the strength to roll over and peer to the finned, white-skinned, orange-haired creature who spoke. His eyes were as gentle as his voice as he said, "You look seasick, buddy..."

Joe gave a sad smile and sat up. Taking his glasses off, he wiped them against his dirty sweater, further smearing the muck over his lens. With an irritated sigh, he placed them back on his nose and looked up at the sky.

Gomamon tilted his head to the side, then reached over and grabbed Joe by the hand. Rivers crumbling the last of those ancient stones, Joe choked and leaned his head against Gomamon's shoulder, bowing his head.

He heard shuffling behind him. Muffled voices revealed it to be from Mimi, Momoe, Palmon, Cyclonemon, Shin, and Dracomon.

"Joe...?" Mimi said in a voice echoing Gomamon's. When Joe sniffled and tried to respond but couldn't, the next thing he knew was that Mimi had taken a nose-dive off Cyclonemon, hit the ground belly-down, scrambled on her palms and knees with a very red face, and pounced on Joe. Joe's back hit the soil with a loud thunk, face wincing and stars flashing across his vision.

"JOE!" she said, burying her face in his chest. "Joe, Joe, Joe!"

Joe tried to face her, but her hair blinded him as she bear-hugged him. He couldn't help but smile. "I'm okay. I'm safe."

"JOOOOOOE!" Mimi started sobbing.

Joe lightly patted her back. "It's okay. It'll be alright."

"Is Gennai dead?!" Mimi wailed, her tears soaking Joe's blood-splattered sweater.

"I... believe so, yes," Joe replied, closing his eyes.

"He's..." Mimi's shrill voice hiccuped. Pulling away, the tears subsided, filtering to an indecipherable, solemn frown. Joe remembered their adventures all those years ago, how Mimi had dealt with losing so many of their good, dear friends. Running away rather than dealing with it had seemed the right choice at the time. Even Joe found that the one way to deal with his issues was by finding the answers on his own, like Matt, like Mimi.

Mimi's face fell. She released his chest.

He stared after her for a couple of seconds before his gaze focused on Shin and Momoe. Shin was glaring at him. Momoe was staring at her shoes, her fists balled up and shaking, her teeth gritting.

A nearby Chevy honked at an oncoming van. Joe nearly leaped to his feet in surprise. He hadn't even realized he was in a concrete jungle; they all were, standing in an empty, dank back-alley infested by squeaking rats and preying Tom cats.

Joe didn't have time to ask where they were before another voice beat him to the punch.

"DIGIMON!" she said, grasping her lips, surprised by her own volume. Everyone spun toward the mouth of the alley where the blond-haired girl stood, wide-eyed, wearing a purple hat and jacket. "But..." She removed her hand. "That's impossible."

"Excuse me, but..." Momoe's voice weakened a little as she went on, "Where are we?"

"Jiyuugaoka," the girl replied, then glanced nervously to the street behind her. "Look, lots of people might... um... freak out if they see you. Follow me. My friend Takuya's house in nearby, I might be able to guide you there through the backstreets."

"Freak out?" Dracomon's brow furrowed as he looked up at Shin, who gave a wry frown and didn't return the digimon's stare.

"Why would anyone freak out over them?" Momoe said in a quiet voice. "There must be tons of them running around... Hey, it's awfully sunny here," she went on, peering up at the sunny sky. "You must have not gotten attacked yet..."

The blond raised an eyebrow and motioned to another interconnecting alley to the right. "Oh...kay... We better get a move on before anyone sees you. My name is Izumi, but you can call me Zoe."

"Izumi..." Joe glanced at Mimi, who remained silent. "Speaking of, have you seen anyone else? Izzy, or Tai by chance? You know, Taichi Kamiya? Or maybe Matt Ishida, or Davis Motomiya? Ken Ichijouji?" He tried to think of the most recognizable faces from their group, the ones who had gotten the most press. "Kari Kamiya?"

"None of that rings a bell," Zoe replied sympathetically. "Do your friends have digimon, too?"

"God, her brain matches her hair!" Shin shouted impatiently, walking past her to the alleyway gestured.

Zoe glared at him. "Hey—"

"So, do you ever get stuck on an escalator for hours because the power went out?" Shin interrupted dismissively.

Zoe was unable to respond before a shrill scream interrupted. All Destined – Zoe included – spun around to see a FlaWizardmon erupt in a incinerating inferno that tore into several nearby buildings. Zoe didn't hesitate.

"Oh, for the love of... Not again!"

Joe and Mimi watched in awe as she whipped out a digivice – a far different model from their own – and shouted, "SPIRIT EVOLUTION..." An egg formed around her. Within seconds, the egg burst to reveal a blue-haired girl clad in purple clothes and fairy wings. "FAIRYMON."

"That girl... did she...?" Momoe's jaw dropped.

Joe frowned. "Is she like Arukenimon?"

"You over there!" she chanted, pointing at the digimon. "C'mon, help me out!"

"Right." Joe, Mimi, and Momoe all took out their digivices. Shin looked down at his and the static scrawled over the screen, his blank expression numbed. Dracomon blinked up at him, then bowed his head as well. In his hand was Shuu's digivice, its screen cracked.

A groggy Palmon and a chipper Gomamon were consumed by eggs. Fairymon raised an eyebrow. "What in the world?"

As the eggs burst, Ikkakumon and Togemon surfaced. Fairymon took a step back. "How did you do that...? Well, never mind. We can talk later. Let's go kick some butt! FLAWIZARDMON!"

She dashed. Ikkakumon, Togemon, and Cyclonemon followed. When Dracomon didn't join them, Shin – staring off after them – grunted. "Why aren't you going?"

"I said I'd be by your side no matter what happened," Dracomon replied.

Shin answered with silence.

As the digimon partners approached FlaWizardmon, he exploded and screamed, catching swerving vehicles and shrieking tires and charring schoolyard parks. "_HE'S LOOKING..."_ FlaWizardmon was caterwauling, grabbing his head, his eyes bulging to the point that his pupils shrunk. "..._LOOKING INTO THE MIRROR..."_

"HARPOON TORPEDO."

"NEEDLE SPRAY."

"HYPER HEAT."

Fairymon smiled and threw a twister of wind at him. "HURRICANE WAVE."

"Got 'im!" Momoe grinned.

"_HE CANNOT SEE..."_ The attacks whirled straight through FlaWizardmon. Projectiles ricocheting in every direction, FlaWizardmon stood unharmed, as though he were merely an apparition. Momoe and Joe stood dumbstruck. Zoe paused. He looked up at them. "This is the result..." FlaWizardmon began, "...of looking into the Mirror of Souls. Its past comes to haunt you all."

Then he burst into flame all over again, his body turning to ash but his inferno remaining. With a screech, another force – unseen til now – sucked the fire into his palm, extinguishing it as all that remained was smoke and smoldering rubble. The figure who stopped the fire was tall, with red armor and blond hair, his back straight.

Zoe – or Fairymon – smiled. "Takuya!" she said.

"Takuya?" the others looked in the digimon's direction.

He craned his neck to grin at them. "Hey, more digimon. At least they're on our side this time."

"How many more FlaWizardmon are around?" Fairymon asked.

"This is the third one I've seen," he answered. "Kouji and Kouichi are fighting several more in Kyoto. JP and Tommy said there's about twenty spread across Odaiba."

"Odaiba?!" Both Joe and Mimi snapped to attention. Joe was the first one to speak up. "We need to get there. Now."

(-'102010201100'-)

Odaiba was where Izzy woke up.

Alone.

At first, the color-soaked dusk slid into view, burning his pupils. Then other shapes grew sharp, like the steel pillars supporting the roof of the rainbow-colored cart he was in, or the flickering lights that flashed neon patterns in over 100 different shades. Slowly sitting up, Izzy quickly realized he was riding the Daikanransha ferriswheel of Odaiba, Japan. Looking out the double-pane window, the red beams bolstering Tokyo Tower and the flashing lights of Rainbow Bridge floated into view. Izzy remembered taking this ride with his mother and father when he was little. It was a sunny afternoon, with the Sun shining down on the three of them. Even from their distance, they could see Mount Fuji atop the ferris wheel's 100-meter zenith. Years later, the Izumi family rode it all over again, this time including their latest family member as well, Tentomon.

"Do you see this, Tentomon?" Izzy asked, swinging around to the purple car's empty interior. "It's prodigious—"

When he realized no one was there, his words fell silent. He lowered his shoulders.

_Right.._. he thought, looking down at the floor. _Tentomon is dead. And Gennai..._

They never finished their game of chess.

_But then, why is this ferris wheel here?_ He went on, glancing back out over the seashore, the glistening waves that quietly sloshed against the beach. Reflecting the golden-warm glow of Rainbow Bridge, the water carried to the docks, gently rocking the boats. _None of this is real..._ Izzy thought, _Or maybe this is reality? Maybe Odaiba is safe, fully restored... maybe Tentomon never died. Maybe none of it was real._

_Yes..._ He fell to his knees, staring up at the ceiling. _None of it was real! Tentomon is still alive! Odaiba was never destroyed! Gennai..._ ("My son...")_ Gennai...!_

Something vibrated against his side. The gentle hum woke him from his trance. With a tilt, he eyed his pocket where the rattle shook his stupor. Hesitantly, Izzy unsheathed a silver-screen mirror.

_Gennai's mirror._

But that didn't make sense. How could Odaiba still exist while Gennai's Mirror remained?

_It's not real... it's all an illusion!_ Izzy wanted to scream— until he saw his own reflection. TigerVespamon's scars remained on his marred face. The tiger stripes embedded his side, his arm, his leg. One of his eyes was dark and human, while the other was composed of a hundred separate, tinier lenses, a "compound eye", he believed it as called.

The scream choked. He dropped the mirror.

So which reality was it? Only one could be _his_ reality. He couldn't have absorbed TigerVespamon's data and inherited Gennai's mirror in a reality where Odaiba wasn't wiped off the map. The only reason why either event happened was specifically _because_ Odaiba had been attacked.

Gennai only gave this mirror to Izzy because he knew he was about to die. He had given it to Izzy for a very specific reason, that much Izzy knew for sure, but why Izzy and not someone else? Tai had always been their clever leader, while Kari was Gennai's student for the past six months. Gennai had always found an intellectual equal in Izzy, but had that really been enough for him to choose Izzy over Tai or Kari?

"_I need you to take good care of this,"_ he'd told Izzy. _"It's the key to everything. To knowing the Endless Ones' plot. To understanding why I am the way I am. To building a better future for both worlds. To fighting fate, both the one you were meant for and the one you are now heading toward._

"_This is the Mirror of Souls, but the only soul it truly reflects is my own, Izzy. Let it show you the truth."_

Izzy almost smiled. Almost.

Of course. That was why Izzy was most suited. Tai had leadership capability and Kari had the heart and soul, but Izzy was the brains. To put it in metaphorical terms, Tai was the physical, Kari was the spiritual, and Izzy... Izzy had been the mental. The brawn, the being, the brains.

_Gennai gave this to me because I know him best. I understand him more than anyone else._

_I don't know which reality is mine. Maybe I'm dreaming. Maybe I'm awake. As wrong as it may be, I find this fascinating... Demon did say he would show me other worlds._

_Do you see us, Tentomon? Maybe we are seeing those worlds now._

Nothing but silence answered him. He crumpled, grabbing his forehead. _I'll figure this out. I'll figure it all out._

_Just like Gennai wanted me to._

_I will find out why the Endless Ones are attacking us. Who they really are._

_I will take it all. The knowledge. The disappointment. I will learn every single thing I can, letting no one get in my way. And I will find a way to bring them both back! Gennai, Tentomon!_

_I WILL TAKE IT BACK._

Wrenching the mirror from the floor, Izzy pointed it toward the sky. A warm sensation buzzed within his fingertips. A dim, white glow exploded around the mirror's handle. Then, with a beam of light, the mirror exploded in a brilliant flash.

The ferris wheel halted on its axles. Every vehicle stood frozen on Rainbow Bridge. The mercurial lights of Daikanransha flickered out.

Briefly blinded, Izzy released the mirror and shielded his face with both his arms. He squeezed his eyes shut. _The mirror is reacting...!_

"_Hello? HELLO?! Is anyone there? Can someone hear me?!"_ came a voice from the mirror.

Izzy looked up. Floating within a thick pillar of bright white light, the round mirror stood six feet tall and three feet wide, reflecting the young Gennai's strained face across its surface. He wasn't staring into the mirror, but instead at something Izzy couldn't see, something away from the reflection. Izzy glanced around the room, but when he saw it was still vacant, he rushed as close to the mirror as he could and reached out to touch it.

The light was warm. Comforting. "Gennai...?" He screwed-up his face. "Gennai, it's me, Izzy! I can hear you! I'm right here!"

"_Hello?! Good... I'm alone."_

Izzy frowned, unable to understand what he was seeing.

Was it like a projection? A recording? Gennai wasn't responding to Izzy's voice. Izzy pounded against the glass surface, but there wasn't any reaction from the face beyond.

The "Mirror of Souls", that was what Gennai called it. It reflected Gennai's soul now, telling a story no one else knew, wasn't it? Now Gennai faced the Mirror's surface, looking straight into Izzy's eyes. Somehow, Izzy felt it wasn't really that Gennai saw him, however; he felt that Gennai's words went out to anyone who would listen, friend or foe.

Gennai leaned into the Mirror, glancing side-to-side occasionally as if to make sure he was still alone. Then, his voice barely above a whisper, he said, _"My name is Gennai. I will record all that I can. I have taken specific entries out of my journal and recorded the most important parts here. Just hours after I finished, someone unknown set my journal on fire. They know. They are trying to wipe all evidence off the face of the planet. All planets._

"_The history of the world has been skewed. Damaged. Blurred."_

Izzy's chest clenched. Gennai once mentioned their future was no longer as it was written, that somehow they had defied their fate, or someone had defied their fate for them. Could they have changed history itself as well? Rewritten the past?

Or perhaps simply lied about the facts?

"_I have planted the truth in these journal entries, so that someday, someone will know what they have done to us and why. Someday, we will have our retribution against them._

"_I have hidden AncientWisemon's Mirror in the recesses of the Dark Area. I know GranDracmon will keep it safely hidden from unwanted eyes._

"_Unfortunately I... I was not strong enough to stop them. It is my sin that I have allowed them to get to this point. If only I had been stronger, and not such a coward, perhaps she would still be alive. Perhaps the Angel Lords would have never fallen. Perhaps ENIAC and Huanglongmon could have lived together in peace._

"_But I was not strong. And so, I will suffer my penance. Someway, somehow, even if it takes centuries, millennia to complete, I will reveal the truth._

"_This is the origin of the world, the Golden Age, the gods and the angels and the demons. This is the origin of the Destined, and those who weave their destiny._

"_These are the sins – our failures – of the past."_


	37. Saga II PREVIEW

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention. No infringement intended.

**Author's Note:** Here is a small preview of Saga II. One part is from the Tamers Arc, another is from the DATS arc.

(-'10230102'-)

**The Lighthouse**

**Saga II: The Sin Destined Preview**

It was raining.

Demon pulled back his hood to feel the warm water wash through his pores. It was a welcomed sensation after the icy cold of the Dark Ocean. He couldn't bear the thought of returning to the waves— at least not so soon.

"I see you got my message," said a voice behind him.

He listened to the waves crash upon the shore. The rain tinkered as it struck the ocean surface, creating ripples in the water. The voice was such a clash against the serene sounds surrounding him that he felt irritation tug at his insides.

Slowly, he craned his neck to view the woman who spoke. She leaned her head back in a smile. Rain soaked her scarlet-colored hair and sopped her garments.

Demon looked back at the ocean. He barely registered the seven-foot-tall throne she sculpted out of sand and was now sitting on, cross-legged.

"I did," he replied. "All the way from Leviamon's palace." His voice lowered as he continued, "It was dangerous to summon me here." The Empress would be lurking, Demon was sure. If they hadn't already sensed Demon's presence rising from the waves, they would soon. If they did not speak quickly and quietly, this beach would be swarmed with the Empress's loyal subjects, all wanting the same thing from Demon... his data. And he did not have the patience to deal with such pests.

Unless she had lured him here to do away with him. Or at least _try_ to do away with him.

"Don't be so paranoid," the woman giggled. "If I wanted revenge, I would have gotten it long ago. But that's your shtick. I don't have any emotions of my own, remember?" When Demon said nothing, she went on, "The powerful are always so touchy about losing that power... Well, nonetheless. You wouldn't be able to kill me this time. Your own fault for fusing my soul with this Goddamn human's you were so stupidly attached to. But I suppose you had to, to keep me from killing you instead. She's attached to you, too."

_drpdrp_

The droplets swam his vision and streamed down his chin, dripping off the tip of his nose. He looked down at the lines in his palm.

Demon once heard that rain could be a sign of fortune. In a way, it was a symbol of washing away the old. Making room for the new. Rebirth and reconsideration, new starts and new lives. How pleasant that would be if this rain was a sign of that.

But he couldn't be so sure. After all, a good sign in one person's culture was an omen in another's.

"Aw, you must really miss me... to have come all this way. We both know how atrocious a swimmer you are. And how bad wet fur smells." She gestured to the dark brown fur that encased his body, all except his face and chest. Her cocky smile almost made him attack her on the spot. "Oh, don't think I'm making fun." She smoothed down the wet shawl sticking to her hips.

"You had news for me," Demon snapped. Rain shuddered around him.

The woman paused.

Mara was always so frustrating. At least that much had not changed. She leaned her elbows against her kneecaps, her chin cupped by her palms. With that innocuous smile worn so well, Martini Spam said only two words... and two words alone were enough to make all her jabs forgotten.

"He's ready."

"Prepare your forces," Demon ordered. The shuddering rain was joined by the shuddering beach. Pillars of earth jutted out of the ground. The moon itself shook above them, filtering the Dark Ocean with silver light and gleaming against the gray lighthouse. With a crash, Demon tore open the barrier between worlds, the sucking motion thrusting gales in every direction.

Perhaps just once in Demon's life, the rain was a sign of fortune. Maybe he could get his new life, too. Everyone else got their rebirth... but Demon remained stuck in this hellhole, this unending wrath.

"Huanglongmon is there," Demon told her, his voice rising against the force of the vortex.

"I know," Mara replied, her throne of sand crumbling against the ferocious winds. "She will not be a problem."

"And the Destined...?"

Mara's head lowered. Her expression darkened. As her tone deepened, she replied, "They might be a problem. They're... stronger than before. And just as unpredictable."

_Of course they are,_ Demon thought, glancing at the sky. _The Council could do great things within months of learning Enigma Evolution. They never let anyone know their true power, but it was there. Deep inside of them. Growing like a fungus. An ability to create and destroy entire universes with a flick of their wrists... the power of gods._

_Months, the power to manipulate dreams and energy._

_Years, the power to bend reality._

_Decades, the power to bend fate._

_Centuries, unlimited power._

But he was no longer afraid.

"Make Beelzemon remember who he truly is," Demon told Mara. "Then the Destined will no longer be a threat."

Slowly, over time, the Demon Lords would gather once again. He was patient. He waited. And waited. He gathered his strength, then waited some more— he made his move, and waited... and now he could make another. Leviamon would liken it to a game of chess, Demon supposed. Either way, he had not lost the game yet. Far from it, victory was in his grasp.

Earth and the Digital World had fallen.

Lucemon and Leviamon were at his side, even if Lucemon was still a bit rebellious.

Though he could not find Lilithmon, he could feel her, watching from the distance... waiting patiently, just like him, to make her own move.

Barbamon's defiance, while aggravating, would dissolve once he saw all the Great Demon Lords assembled again.

And now he saw it in the stars, the faces he needed to find and save; the Demon Lords of old called to him from the heavens, crying for a reunion. He would give it to them. He would give it to all of them.

He would save Beelzemon and Belphemon.

And Lilithmon and Barbamon soon after.

With the wind, the rain, the sand, her scarlet hair that looked like blood in the gray light— for a moment, just one, Demon thought he saw Geneva's freckled smile flash across Mara's face.

(-'1020101'-)

"_I said I'd spare ya unda only one condition— that ya'd help me wit' sometin'," Beelzemon had said all those years ago. _

_Davis could remember the damp smell within the cave. The way perspiration dripped down the cold walls and pitter-pattered against the ground like rain. It was cold. And there was a presence deep within that clawed at him from the inside-out, dying to grab hold of him, to shake him; he didn't know why or how or who, but his first instinct was to turn around and exit through those rancid gates._

_But for the still groggy Veemon's sake, and for Cody's sake, and Chizuru's sake, and for Armadillomon and Snatchmon, Davis stayed._

_Beelzemon cracked a grin. "So in there is ya salvation, and the salvation of ya partna. From me."_

_And so they ventured deeper. Deeper. The farther they went, the more Davis could feel that chill run him through._

_About five minutes in, Beelzemon finally spoke. "I s'pose ya wonderin' why there ain't no digimon 'round. You folks don' seem ta' be very familiar wit' dis place."_

_Cody sullenly nodded. "I suppose it could've changed from the recent battle, but... not this much. The Digital World we remember didn't have a red sky. And there were a lot of digimon. But I haven't seen a single digimon since we've arrived... well, besides you and our partners."_

"_Dat's 'cause mos' digimon died a loooong time ago," Beelzemon replied. Chizuru gasped. Davis was already feeling incredibly sick, but Beelzemon's words nearly made him buckle over. Cody had gone ghostly pale._

"_They're... dead?" Cody asked in a weak voice._

_Beelzemon nodded. The constant smirk he wore faded. "A long time ago, we used ta have human partnas too. But dat all changed when da D-Reaper was released on Earth."_

"_D-Reaper?" this time it was Davis who asked._

"_Twas a program designed ta keep digimon from gettin' too advanced," he answered. "Da Sovereign managed ta keep it unda wraps at first, but evenchully even they couldn' control it. It found its way onta Earth by possessing a human..." At this, his face strained, but he shook his head to clear away whatever painful memory might have returned to him. "The Sovereign and some humans, wit da Tamers' help, forced da D-Reaper to de-evolve, and trapped it back inta da center of da Digital World, where it slumbered fo' some time..."_

"_And then it woke up?" Cody asked. His grip tightened on Chizuru's hand. His other arm squeezed Armadillomon as protectively as it could._

"_Dunno, maybe," Beelzemon grunted. "Dat's what Sakuyamon tinks."_

"_Sakuyamon?"_

_Beelzemon's grin returned. "Ohhh, she a saucy toots, she is. One of da originals, we go waaaaay back, ya know what I mean? _Centuries._ She mah one true love! Now if onleh she saw it that way, hahah. She was one of da digimon who helped da Tamers seal da D-Reaper. At da time, she needed a human ta reach her mega level, but now she don' need anyone."_

"_So get to the point," Chizuru snapped. "I'm grumpy, I'm tired, I'm upset, all I want to do is get this over with so I can find a nice place to hunker down until this all blows over. Enough with your antics. Where are all the digimon? Why did you bring us here? How's it related to this D-Reaper thing? Why is this place so Goddamn creepy?"_

"_Hey, no need ta cuss at me, ya fuckin' pipsqueak," Beelzemon tittered with that petulant grin. Cody had to hold Chizuru back from punching him. "Sometime after da D-Reaper was sealed away by da humans, digimon started dyin'."_

_Chizuru's fight immediately went out. "Why?"_

"_No one knew at first," Beelzemon replied. "Mostly twas eitha incredibly weak digimon or twas incredibly strong digimon. They got... infected. Some turned into viruses and mowed down otha digimon. Otha digimon just... got sick. Those dat died never got recycled. Data jus' disappeared inta thin air, like sometin' absorbed it or sometin'. In a massacre mos' of us know as da 'Digital Hazard', more t'an three-fourths of da population got wiped out. Jus' like dat. Gone." He snapped to emphasize his point. "One of mah ole amigos, Guardromon, helped develop the X-antibody ta combat da sickness. It made digimon immune to it. But by da time it was made, it was already too late for most digimon... Before we knew it, everyone we knew an' cared 'bout was dead. Even our partners."_

"_It infected the human world?" Cody asked._

"_No," Beelzemon scratched his chin. "We digimon... we don' die of old age here. Well some of us do I guess. But mos' of us jus' keep tickin'. We outlived our partnas. So by the time the Digital Hazard arrived..." He cleared his throat. "Sakuyamon tinks twas da D-Reaper who created da sickness. Afta all, da D-Reaper felt da Digital World had advanced too far ahead, beyond its purpose— and da sickness seemed ta target t'ose twere advancin' quickly, or those dat were too weak to really fight it at all."_

_Cody's eyes peered side-to-side. Davis knew that look. It was what Cody did when he was piecing together a puzzle. He and Izzy shared that single mannerism; something that Davis had always appreciated about the kid... nothing got past him. No matter how much younger Cody was than the rest of them, no one could deny his brilliance and wisdom in most things. Even with the tragedy of his grandfather weighing him down, and his worry over Yolei's absence, he still processed Beelzemon's words with a calm confusion._

_Davis still couldn't believe Beezemon's words. No... he was certain now, this couldn't be his world. It couldn't possibly be its future either, could it? At the same time... there was a hurt in his heart. It told him this wasn't his universe. This world was not his home. And maybe he should be grateful for that._

_Cody finally looked back up at Beelzemon. "So what do you think? What started it all?"_

_Beelzemon grinned. "Nothin' gets past you, kid. I like it. What I tink is why we're here, ya know?" He laughed. "Ya see... it got me tinkin'... I dunno, maybe it's all da booze and data-feasts, but... da D-Reaper devoured everytin' it touched. Like I devour da data of every digimon I meet. But each o' those digimon still live inside meh. An' I keep tinkin, maybe all those souls still live inside da D-Reaper... and maybe I can get 'em back, all t'ose souls gone by da Digital Hazard an' da souls slain in da war after... and den it hit me." He spread his arms out wide, reaching for the walls. "If I got nuff power, if I devoured nuff digimon, I could do anytin' I wanted. Nothin' could hold me back! Ya see, I got my claws on some scrolls... da Devas thought dey could keep 'em from me, but dey were weak... and da scrolls said dis world is made up not only of data, but dreams too. Wishes. And if I could jus' get nuff power..._

"_If I could absorb da D-Reaper's power..._

"_Den maybe I could get da power ta bring back da dead."_

_Beelzemon's words echoed down the corridors of the cave and reverberated all the way down to Davis's core._

(-'10201010'-)

_Drp drp drp_

It was raining. Drops of water plummeted to the earth, where each one burst upon impact and splattered. It ran down Davis's cheeks, soaked into his clothes. Clouds filtered out the bleak red sunlight. Lightning broke the charcoal gray cumulus and sent scattered beams of light through the atmosphere until, a split second later, each beam died.

_Drp drp_

Storms like this reminded Davis of that night four years ago, a night where Heaven cried itself dry. That night had changed his life forever. Lying in bed staring up at the ceiling, he heard a sudden crackle. At first he thought it was thunder. He soon learned it was much more than that. Swinging his legs over the side of his bed, he witnessed as a massive gash blew the sky wide open, depositing digimon from a dark, simmering world.

Within the heavens was a DigiPort.

His immediate reaction was to grab Veemon and meet up with the others. They too would have known about the port and would try to find him. He sent messages out to Yolei, Cody, Ken, TK, and, of course, Kari, and set course for the school where he said he would meet them. But none of them ever made it there. Instead, their destination was disturbed by the many dark digimon hordes descending from the sky, separating them.

Kari was met by the greatest force of evil. She took it on. And she was defeated. As Davis begged her to hold on, pleading her name, even pretending to be TK for her in her delirious state – giving her the person she needed most – she let him go as the Dark Ocean swallowed her whole.

He sacrificed a part of his soul to save her life. She in turn sacrificed a part of hers to save his. And then they returned to Earth, where six months later the Endless Ones devastated Earth and the Digital World... and jettisoned the DigiDestined Children from Earth and into completely separate universes from their own and each other, to make sure they never posed another threat, together... or alone.

Davis did not know where the Endless Ones sent most of his friends. But he swore to do what was best for the Destined who shared this particular world with him, whether they agreed with his decision or not.

That was four years ago. Sometimes Davis thought the Endless Ones would succeed and he would never meet with the others again. That all his struggles would be in vain.

But then... on nights like tonight, in the rain and in the boom and in the cold running down his back...

He knew he would take back everything the Endless Ones had ever stolen from him.

His life.

His future.

His present.

His destiny.

His world.

His friends.

His family.

His girlfriend.

His partner.

His soul.

Years later, those same words spoken by Beelzemon – _"Maybe I could get the power to bring back the dead"_ – still rattled Davis.

He didn't have much time.

The others would arrive soon.

He couldn't allow that. Not yet.

His footsteps thumped against the ground as he approached the gates.

The awning of the cave entrance looked just as treacherous as it had four years ago. Even more so in the stormlight. Each blue bolt glistened against the rusted metal that bent at crooked angles, keeping what little creatures still alive at bay. "Prepare to die" was still scrawled in DigiCode atop the metal bars. Within still lingered the dead echoes of that ominous presence which haunted the last half of Davis's teenage years.

Before, even with his Enigma Evolution that allowed him to defy all laws of science and dream, Davis could not bust open the gates no matter how fiercely he pounded his fists or feet against them. It seemed only Beelzemon could open them. But now, after all these years, Davis did not even have to touch the metal to hear the hinges squeal. Now, all things, even this, bended to his will.

He did not stop until he was deep within the cave. Pressing his fingers to the same crack in the wall Beelzemon had whispered to four years ago, Davis chanted the ancient incantation that sundered the doors to the Creature's resting place...

By now, Beelzemon would have infiltrated Sakuyamon's base. His Nightmare Soldiers would scale the tall, thick barriers; surrounding the fortress with immense numbers, they would then proceed to quietly assassinate any lookouts until their progress went without pause.

Davis's footsteps echoed in the cathedral-like space. The sound went on for miles, for minutes. His eyes lied on the mammoth golden-glass case still sitting in the center of the room...

Justimon would be the biggest block. Sakuyamon would not be a problem until Beelzemon and his comrades reached the center of the fortress, and Dukemon wouldn't pose a threat unless Beelzemon threatened Sakuyamon. Beelzemon still felt too much for Sakuyamon to go through with that. SaintGalgomon would not take the threat seriously until it surrounded him; then he would try to take out the enemy from the inside-out. But Justimon... he would detect it when something didn't feel right. He had a sixth sense about these things. He could easily discover Beelzemon's plan of attack before Beelzemon planned to reveal himself... and that would cause alarm.

Davis wandered the corridors filled with decimated pews and fallen statues. Ohh, he'd forgotten all the fun that took place in this golden-glowing room...

Cody and Dynasmon might wipe out half of Beelzemon's first battalion. But they wouldn't be able to find the the other half. Chizuru and Snatchmon would easily team with Mantarou and Leomon to scatter Beelzemon's remaining soldiers; but Beelzemon was counting on that. However, it would be Jun, side-by-side with Flaremon, who would be the first to notice Davis was no where to be seen. Not long after, with Goddramon and Darkdramon watching his back, TK would be the first one to figure out Davis's location.

And then...

_**Squelch**_

_Well,_ Davis thought as he felt a sharp pain enter his stomach. _That was sooner than expected._

For a single stunned moment, Davis stopped in his trek.

_Drp drp_

It sounded like rain.

_Drp drp_

But he was sure it wasn't.

_Drp drp drp_

He looked down and saw the dagger that penetrated his stomach and lanced out of his back. His eyes falling half-lidded, Davis peered into the single blue eye of his attacker. "TK..."

The years in this wretched world had changed the blond boy, too. Now who stood before Davis was a blond man, his single blue eye shining with a firm, brutal, unforgiving glare. His muscled arms were strained as they held the dagger in Davis's stomach, his grip tightening. The scorch mark which marred TK's eye had permanently singed off his eyebrow and spiraled from the left side of his forehead to his bottom lip.

What had replaced TK's eye was a single, simmering orb of golden light with a bleeding corona.

But perhaps the biggest change to TK were the goggles soaked in rain. Droplets dribbled down the broken lens where what were once Tai's and Davis's goggles lied, broken, ringing not Davis's neck, but TK's.

The orb of light that replaced TK's eye was just inches from the only eye Davis had left. It was a bit like looking into a mirror. TK was his reflection, with his eye of light and blood and his broken goggles. And in TK's reflection was the older Davis, with his broken pride and a gouged eye that matched TK's. But it wasn't a golden light which replaced Davis's missing part, it was a fire...

A spherical burning blue inferno that enveloped the entire orbit of his eye.

Looking into his reflection with the fire eye, TK jerked the dagger out of Davis's stomach.

Davis fell to his knees.

Grinning in-between his bloodstained teeth, the former goggle boy looked up at TK and breathed, "You have no idea... what you're doing..."

(_**-102010102-**_)

(_**In the DATS world...**_)

The night Rei Saiba fell like a star into the DATS world, Tai was having a dilemma of his own.

"Sora!" Matt called out.

Smoke ascended in hazy coils from the surrounding rubble. Crusadermon and Mercurymon scrounged through the debris from the recent battle, searching every scorched inch for their lost friend. Tai and Examon had joined them as well, calling out her name.

It all happened so fast. One minute, he and Marcus were in the process of settling a feud between the virus and vaccine digimon in a quaint village, the next they were attacked by none other than Yggdrasil's Royal Knights. The Knights demanded their surrender, and when Marcus asked them what this was about, they said things had changed. A recent enemy had risen, and now Marcus – with his ability to stop Yggdrasil – was considered a threat, rather than a neutralizing force.

Marcus, Thomas, Yoshi, and Keenan were able to force the Knights into retreat with their partners ShineGreymon Burst Mode, MirageGaogamon Burst Mode, Rosemon Burst Mode, and Ravemon— but not before Sora's disappearance. It took a loud clatter from Yggdrasil's Crusadermon, then an explosion— and she was gone, vanished in the dust, the fire, the shrapnel.

But they knew the Enigma Evolution. Something like that couldn't have possibly harmed her to such a degree.

Unless she wasn't expecting it...

"Sora!" Matt said frantically, digging through the debris.

Tai felt his heart thudding against his chest. How could he let this happen? Sora had always been there for him... she had been one of his best friends, if not his best of all, since they were in grade school. "Sora!" he called out, echoing Matt. "Sora!"

"SORA." Matt found her lying beneath a caved-in roof. He flung the tattered remains of the walling and plaster in every direction, finally able to lift her up. She was barely conscious, her eyes open in half-lidded slits. Tai tore himself away from his thoughts to wander in their direction. He watched Matt cradle her in his arms, his eyes narrowed, one of his hands reaching up to delicately brush the hair out of her eyes.

As his warmth grazed her skin, her eyes opened wider. "Matt...?" she said hoarsely.

"Morning, gorgeous," he whispered through tears, leaning forward to peck her forehead. "You really worried us there for a minute..."

She smiled groggily. "I'll make sure to worry you longer next time."

"You better not," he said sternly. He held her tighter, but not enough to hurt her. "Sora... I love you."

The tiredness in her eyes lifted. She gave him a stunned, unsure look, which melted away almost instantly into something Tai could only describe as affection. "I love you too, Matt."

Cold. It was the only way to describe the deep feeling stirring in Tai's stomach. He felt sick.

Why?

Why did hearing those words out of their mouths suddenly hit him like that? He already knew Matt was in love with Sora... But it wasn't exactly the first time Matt thought he was in love with a girl.

_But it's the first time Sora thinks she's in love with a guy,_ Tai thought. And the sickness lurched.

He turned away from them and stomped off. Examon gave him a curious look, but he waved it away. He needed to be alone.

"Tai...?" came Sora's sleepy voice.

He stopped in his tracks. Craning his neck, he saw her cradled in Matt's arms, the both of them looking at the former goggle-head. Tai didn't turn fully toward them. Instead, he gave them a reassuring smile and said, "I'm glad you're okay."

Then he went back to his trek, growing more and more distant from the others.

He eventually came across a grassy hillside overlooking a vibrant city. In the late dusk, the small twinkling lights looked like fireflies. He crossed his arms over his chest and scrunched up his face. This was a good place. It was a great place. He liked this place...

He didn't know how long he was there before a voice entered the equation. "Tai... are you okay?"

He saw Matt at the corner of his eye. He shrugged and looked back at the twinkling city. "I'm fine."

"I don't think you are," Matt responded.

"I wonder why that is," Tai snapped. Realizing his tone, Tai sighed and shrugged, attempting to walk away from the blond and the sanctum he'd found on the hill.

"Don't walk away from me, Tai," Matt said. "If you've got a problem, speak up. Don't just bottle it up like that. It isn't right."

"You know what else isn't right?" Tai said, spinning on his heel and glaring at his friend. "Your best friend going out with the girl you have feelings for. And you know what else isn't right on top of that?" Tai's glare smoldered. "He wasn't supposed to love her. She wasn't supposed to be the one for him. _He_ wasn't supposed to be the one right for _her_."

"Tai..." Matt frowned.

"I thought you were supposed to have the Crest of Friendship!" Tai shouted. All that jealousy that built inside of him over the course of the past few years exploded. The dark place he went to every time he saw them smile at each other, or kiss, or laugh... it bubbled up, turning from dark into an insufferable, boiling heat. "But where is your friendship now, Matt? It's obvious I'm in love with Sora! It's obvious I have _always_ been in love with Sora. I might not have always known I was in love with her... but it was there. Everyone saw it. Everyone knew it! And _you...?_ _**You**_ ask HER out? Sora, the Amazon, the warrior princess, the tomboy... with the playboy? The grunge singer of a rock band with groupies worshiping his every move? And you HAD to go for Sora? Are you KIDDING me? And the worst part... she said yes!"

He didn't know how loud he'd gotten. All he heard was the echo of Sora's name.

"She... had feelings for me, Matt," Tai said. His voice was almost hoarse. "She wanted to be with _me_, but I was too immature and stupid to see it until it was too late. If I got a clue just a week sooner, she and I would be together now. It's funny... if it weren't for our history, I never could've seen her with a guy like you. You used to have a new girlfriend every couple of months... falling in and out of love... and when I first heard you and Sora were going out... It hurt at first, but... I thought, 'It won't last', and I was okay with it at first, knowing that eventually she would want something more serious with someone, and you wouldn't want that."

"But things didn't turn out that way," Matt finished for him.

"Exactly." Tai stared at the lines in his palm. "Things didn't turn out that way."

Matt bowed his head. There was silence between them for a while. All that stood between them was the hill, where they could see the city blinking in and out in the distance.

Finally, the blond spoke, his voice firm but not unwelcoming. Not judgmental or angry. "I'm sorry," he said. "We didn't mean to fall for each other. It just... happened," he continued. "Sora came to me when she was down. She was tired of waiting for you. I joked around with her, telling her I'd go out with her to make you jealous. We weren't being serious. But we did start hanging out after that. And... we both understood each other, if that makes any sort of sense."

"Understood each other?" Tai shook his head. "Like she and I don't understand each other? We have everything in common. Sports, food, even music... We even have similar personalities."

"But you don't have similar insecurities," Matt replied. Tai was the one to frown then. Matt went on, "You don't know what it's like to completely give up. To let go of everything you know and love. She and I know what that's like. We've experienced that kind of pain. And... in a way, it brought us closer together, because we understand one another. Ever since our adventures in the Digital World, she and I always go to one another when we feel that darkness creeping in. Because we _know_. Like no one else does.

"I'm not saying you don't have a significant connection with Sora, because you do. Sometimes... I feel insecure, too. Wondering if she's ever thinking of you when she's with me. But... I'm just trying to explain to you that it wasn't something we did on purpose. You didn't want her. You broke her heart. And that is something I would never do to her."

_You broke her heart..._

And once that trust was gone, it could never be made whole again.

If Tai were to enter a relationship with her, how often would she question his feelings, whether or not he really wanted to be with her? How often would she second guess herself? Doubt him? How often would she wonder if he was merely _settling _on her?

"We both love you, Tai," Matt said. "What happened, happened. And there's no changing that. I understand if you need time to yourself. And I understand if you need to take a break from our friendship. Just know that I am always here. I will always be your friend. You're my bro, man. There's no change from that, no matter how much you are understandably angry with me. And... if it's any consolation, I didn't think you had serious feelings for her. In that way, we were both wrong about each other."

With that, Matt turned and walked away.

Tai was separated from his sister, his parents, his world and the rest of the Destined and his friends... In this world, all he had was Matt, Sora, and Agumon. If he didn't feel so alone, maybe that would have been enough. But it wasn't. He wanted more. A part of him even needed it.

But he knew he would not be able to get it.

_**BOOOOOM**_

The ground rattled beneath him. The forest just a few yards away burst into flames. Shockwaves knocked him off his feet and on his bum. With a crunch, Tai winced and sat back up. He heard tree branches snapping and crunching, crackling with fire as the explosion ended.

"What in the...?"

"Tai!" came a voice from his digivice.

The DATS headquarters had programmed it to communicate with each other. He used this communication device to answer Thomas, whose face appeared on the screen.

"An unknown signal just appeared near you!" Thomas said. "It's similar to when you, Matt, and Sora appeared! Grab Agumon and check it out. We will join you as soon as we can. Over."

With that, the screen clicked off.

Tai hesitated. Grabbing Agumon meant going back to Matt and Sora... he wasn't ready for that.

_I have the Enigma Evolution,_ he thought with a grunt. _I'll be fine by myself. And it might be Kari._

He smiled at the thought. Seeing Kari's smiling face would be just the thing he needed after this disaster of a night.

Rushing through the wreckage and extinguishing the flames with a flick of his wrist, he eventually made it to the source of the explosion. The ground was still rumbling where a girl lied within the center of a crater. She was pulsating, creating mini waves through the ground and tearing up the forest floor even more.

Tai stood still, completely bewildered.

The girl resembled Sora, but not by much. It couldn't possibly be Sora, could it? She was still with Matt.

_Well don't just stand there!_ He scolded himself. _She could be hurt!_

His feet skidded against the charred earth as he moved down the crater. A part of him wondered if the girl was dead... but no, she couldn't be. Why would she still be pulsing if she was dead? And what exactly _were_ those pulses? Tai had seen far weirder events that things of this sort no longer dazzled him, but it still made him curious.

As he approached the girl, he held out a hand. "Hey... are you o...?"

Her eyes snapped open. White light poured out of them. A tongue of white light frothed from her mouth as her palms were illuminated by the tangible heat. Tai stood more than five feet away and he could feel the power radiating off of her. What in the world was she?

He felt her gaze land on him as he stood gawking. Instantly, the light pittered, then dimmed and returned to normal. She blinked. "Taichi...?" she whispered.

"Uh..." He blinked. "Yes...?"

Tears filled her eyes. "You're..." She ran toward him, arms outstretched. "You're alive! Taichi!" She flung her arms around him and buried her face in the nook of his neck. Sobs wracked her entire body as she held him. At the last moment, she lost the strength in her legs and her knees buckled.

"Um." Tai reddened and caught her before she could fall, wrapping his arms around her to steady her. "Who... are you...?"

The girl pulled away and frowned. Her tears trickled away as she cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean 'who are you'? It's me. I thought you were dead. I was so worried... Oh, Taichi!" She sniffled and buried her face in her palms, her shoulders shaking.

"I'm okay," he said quietly, patting her on the head. "Are you one of my fans? Did you come all the way from my world? What battle did you see?" He grinned cockily.

"Fans...?" She glared up at him from behind her hands. "What the hell is wrong with you, you asshole?!"

Tai blinked. "You're... not a fan?" He half-heartedly glared. "Don't tell me you're another Matt fan. He has a girlfriend, you know!" He grumbled and looked at his shoes. "A pretty damn good one, too..."

The girl burst into tears. "It's me! Rei!" she said, sobbing. "How can you be so mean? After... After..." She collapsed to her knees. "I don't understand..."

Rei.

Rei.

_Rei._

The name blossomed inside his mind like an explosion. He didn't know where he'd heard it before, but it hit him in the gut like a punch.

"_**REI."**_ He heard his voice calling out for the girl. His hand was outstretched to grab her hand. But he never reached his destination... neither time that he tried it.

Tai grabbed Rei by the elbow and pulled her to her feet. He looked her straight in the eye and said, "How do I know you?"

"Taichi, it's _me_," she repeated, cupping his cheeks in her hands, her tearstained face raised toward his. "It's your friend."

Rei. Rei. _Rei..._

(-'120101'-)

The memory that played so often in Rei's mind returned to her in that moment.

"_Are you one of the soldiers?"_ a sad Rei Saiba had asked Taichi Kamiya all those years ago. _"Are you... leaving...?"_

He had tried to grab her by the hand, but he never quite got the courage to do so. Instead, he lowered his hand and broke eye contact with her. _"No,"_ he'd replied a moment later. _"Not this particular me."_

And years later, here she was... staring into the eyes of a Taichi Kamiya who did not recognize her. Her Taichi would know her in an instant. And after all those years... he had been ready to hold her hand... only for that desire to be squashed like a bug as this Tai waited patiently for an answer she didn't know how to give.

_If_ this was a Tai, but not her Tai, how did he somehow recognize her name? Could he sense her? Did he know her? Was he just like her Taichi, or was he different?

No Taichi could be like _her_ Taichi...

Looking into this Tai's eyes, she knew it.

She shrugged off his hands and wiped away her tears. "You don't know me," she replied, stepping past him. "But in another reality, you and I were friends. We saved the Digital World together. But in that reality..." And as she said it, she knew it was true— "...You died."

Something inside his eyes flickered, as though processing her words. Normally, any logical human being would come to the conclusion that she was delusional, schizophrenic... But his eyes didn't say any of that. They said they believed her. Hell, they said this wasn't the weirdest thing he'd encountered. Maybe a part of this Tai even _expected_ it.

"Great," he muttered. He threw his arms toward the sky. "Just _great!_ This night isjust _freaking awesome_!" He was shouting at the stars, his face screwed-up in anger. "And now I get to be _dead_. FUCK YOU, Fate! Fuck. YOU. I am done with you! It's over! I GIVE UP."

He spun on his heel and marched away. Rei paused.

"Don't go," she whispered, her voice raw, slightly desperate. "Don't... leave me alone..."

Tai stopped in his tracks. Maybe a part of him wanted to tell her to leave him alone, that he wasn't interested in interacting with someone who saw another Tai through him. Maybe a part of him wanted to ask about her, or her Tai. But he didn't say anything. Instead, he simply stopped, his back turned to her, and stared up at the stars.

Rei did the same. Neither of them said a word, and neither of them knew whether or not they wanted to.

It was the pulse – one that came not from Rei this time, but Tai – that forced them apart.

(-'1201012'-)

Four years ago, while Rei met an alternate Tai than the one she knew, Yggdrasil sensed the return of the Digimental.

Ah. What a clever little beast. He was quite impressed with himself...

"Alphamon," he said in a low voice. Yggdrasil had no physical body for the Knights to see, but he knew they were aware of his eternal eye, watching over each and every one of them. Their leader, a dark knight by the name of Alphamon, appeared to Yggdrasil in a bow.

"Yes, Lord?" the Royal Knight asked.

"Did you feel the star falling from the heavens?" Yggdrasil asked.

Alphamon nodded.

"Retrieve it," Yggdrasil ordered. "It is time I end this war between gods."

(-'1201012'-)

Matt and Sora decided to return to headquarters without Tai. Their partners followed behind them, but Examon chose to wait for Tai before heading back. The two Destined went through the oscillation portals and arrived in the basement of the DATS base, doing so completely silent.

Sora had managed to regain the strength in her legs, but she was still weak. However, it was Matt's somber expression that worried her.

Crusadermon and Mercurymon – de-digivolving into Biyomon and Gabumon – chose to take the staircase while the two humans rode the small, creaky elevator up to the main floor. It wretched as it shot upward, seemingly taking forever to reach its destination.

As they ascended, Sora hadn't taken her eyes off Matt once. Then she said, "Was Tai okay?"

Matt nearly jumped at the sound of her voice. Then, torn from his stupor, he avoided her eyes. "I don't think so."

The truth she knew was always there but didn't want to acknowledge... it was finally being thrust in front of her. One question led to another in her head before she finally asked, "Is he... mad at me?"

"He's mad at _me_," Matt replied.

"Why?" Her heart was thumping in her chest.

"I can't tell you," Matt said back, looking at the floor. "That's... something _he_ needs to talk to you about. It wouldn't be right if I told you." As he finished, he finally made eye contact with her. "It doesn't change the way I feel about you... but I understand if it changes the way you feel about me."

_This is it,_ Sora thought as Matt looked her in the eye. She closed her eyes and sighed. _Stupid Tai._

_**Kuh-THUNK**_

A chink in the elevator wheels caused Matt to stumble into Sora. She peered at the floor number. It was flickering between floors.

"Matt—" was all she managed to say before the elevator rattled under their feet.

_**Screeeeech**_...

A black pair of claws forced their way in-between the elevator doors.

_What's going on?_ Sora thought as the claws sliced easily through the metal and continued peeling the doors apart.

She glowed with a vibrant red light. Matt followed her cue, illuminated with a light blue kindle. The two of them readied themselves for the force behind the elevator...

But seconds later, when the claws budged the doors wide open, they realized there was nothing they could do to save them from the force behind those doors.

"_Taiiii..."_ said a low, growling voice.

Smoke oozed from the creature's throat. He was crouched over, needles and stitches protruding from his thick purple fur. He looked like a mutilated teddy bear, his face masked by a silver apparatus extending from his mouth to a heart design in his chest.

When the creature – standing waist-level – revealed itself, Matt gave Sora an odd look before looking back at the digimon.

"Porcupamon?" he asked.

The digimon – Porcupamon – snarled when Matt spoke. "Tai's not here," he grumbled. He looked at Matt and Sora, then each of the eight corners of the elevator, then the ceiling of the elevator, and finally the floor.

"Boo!"

Seeing it was Porcupamon, Matt and Sora powered-down. Of course it was Porcupamon. Who else would open the doors of the elevator _in the middle of the shaft_ in order to see Tai?

Ever since four months ago when Tai found Phascomon – who had just recently digivolved into Porcupamon – the digimon had been obsessed with him. It was cute when he was a small rookie digimon tiny enough to attach itself to Tai's leg (and it amused Matt to see Tai hobble around everywhere trying to get the digimon off), but now with the rather long and sharp stitches poking out of its flesh, it worried Matt a great amount.

"Where's Tai?" Porcupamon demanded.

"He's still in the Digital World," Matt replied. "What's...?"

Before Matt could even finish his sentence, he felt it. All three of them did, pulsing through the floor of the elevator into their very veins.

Something big had arrived in the Digital World. Its crash against this reality had caused ripples throughout the worlds, sending fumes in every direction. It happened near Tai. He was there with _It_, with the fallen star...

And most of all, Matt and Sora could sense something else, something even more unsettling.

Yggdrasil was happy.

Porcupamon let out another snarl. He grabbed hold of Sora and Matt's hands, forcing them into the shaft of the elevator and closer to headquarters. "Must save Tai," he said.

It was a sentiment the two humans agreed with.


End file.
